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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26151244">Out Of Suffering Have Emerged The Strongest Souls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetener_Rose/pseuds/Sweetener_Rose'>Sweetener_Rose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Victorious (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternative Universe - FBI, Bade relationship, Explosion, F/M, FBI, FBI agent Beck and Jade, Intense, Jandre Friendship, Jori Friendship, Nightmares, Potential Trauma, Sad kinda, Trauma, also based off 7x24, bank heist, based off criminal minds episode 7x23, bat friendship, bau, bendre friendship, bori friendship, cade friendship, criminal minds inspiration?, group friendship, oh no, parent bade, rade friendship, reck friendship, robbie leadership, there's swearing oops</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:01:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,920</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26151244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetener_Rose/pseuds/Sweetener_Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade and Beck believe they have fairly simple lives. They live in a regular house in D.C with their son Henry and work somewhat regular jobs. Well, regular to them, maybe not to everyone else. Jade is an FBI agent working at the BAU and Beck is a special agent/detective for the MPD.</p><p>What happens when they get called in for a dangerous bank heist? How serious will the threats become? What lengths will they have to go to in order to keep their family safe? </p><p>(Orrrr an FBI Bade fic based off the Criminal Minds episodes 7x23 and 7x24)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beck Oliver/Jade West</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fear Is Met, And Destroyed, With Courage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi Hi :) I'm back with a new fic, this time a two part one. It's really intense and probably one of my favorite things I've written so far. For all of my Criminal Minds fans, this is a bade version of episodes 7x23 and 7x24. Buttt you can read without watching Criminal Minds and it will still make sense. It's basically like an FBI Beck and Jade AU.</p><p>For everyone who's reading and watches criminal minds- Jade is JJ, Beck is Will, Andre is Morgan, Tori is Prentiss, Trina is Rossi, Robbie is Hotch, Cat is Reid, Sinjin is Garcia, Burf is Kevin, and Sikowitz is Strauss :)</p><p> TW// I want to say before you start reading, that this fic has multiple mentions of violence. There is shooting and guns mentioned, as well as explosions. If any of this bothers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way- please do not read. </p><p>A few things before you start reading also: Jade is an actual FBI agent in this, working for the BAU (behavioral analysis unit) while Beck is an agent/detective for MPD (Metropolitan Police Department). Cat,Trina,Tori, and Andre are all FBI agents with the BAU as well. Robbie is an SSA for the BAU (meaning he's a supervisory special agent and he's basically in charge). Sikowitz is the BAU section chief (meaning he's in charge of Robbie) and Sinjin and Burf are technical analysts for the BAU (agents who don't do any of the violent stuff, instead working with technology). Now that we have everyone's jobs out of the way and it should make sense, I hope you enjoy! please leave feedback if you have any, it's appreciated &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ugh nooo, five more minutes please” Jade woke up to the blaring sound of her alarm ringing through their bedroom. Morning sunlight glared through the windows as she reached over to grab her phone off the nightstand. Beck chuckled from his spot standing at their closet, watching her glare at the windows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade read the time on her phone as 7:30 before hearing a thumping noise come from the hallway. Beck looked up from buttoning his shirt to see what the noise was, noticing Henry run through the bedroom door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, there we go” Beck picked Henry up just as he was about to slip from running too fast. Jade smiled to herself as she watched Beck pick him up before shoving her face back into her pillow, hoping to get a little more sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hope of getting more sleep vanished though as Beck set down Henry on their bed. “Go get your mama, there you go” he pushed him towards Jade before turning back to their closet to continue getting dressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh, sleep denied” Jade said as she felt Henry jump onto her back. She moved the pillows that were beneath her so she could sit up fully, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mommy, wake up! It’s time to play” Henry grabbed her face and squeezed it between his small hands, resting his forehead against hers. Jade laughed at his movement before glancing at Beck watching them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry continued to shake her, trying to drag her body out of the bed as Beck spoke up. “I’m late for work, and last night you promised you’d play soccer with him this morning” he told her with a shrug, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade rolled her eyes, patting Henry on the knee and moving him towards the edge of the bed “Okay fine, go get your shoes on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry jumped off their bed and made a run for his room, they both watched him leave before looking at each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When will a day off ever actually be a day off?” Jade questioned Beck, him making his way towards her before answering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In about fifteen years when Henry is in college” He told her honestly, reaching out his hands to pull her up from her position on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah right” Jade told him, letting him pull her up before they were at an equal height. He rested his forehead against hers, both of them leaning in at the same time. Their lips met, moving against each other softly before being interrupted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mommy come on!” Henry shouted from somewhere in the house, Jade guessed the kitchen. They pulled back and laughed, foreheads staying connected. Beck kissed her one last time before moving out of the room to find Henry and let Jade get dressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both walked out of their front entrance holding coffee mugs, Henry trailing behind them kicking a soccer ball. Beck opened up their front door and gestured for Jade and Henry to walk out first before following. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay remember, we have a play date with Kameron at four so you’re on your own for dinner” Jade reminded him as they made their way to his car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll manage somehow” he told her slyly, Jade responding back with a quick “mmhmm” Beck leaned down to pick up Henry, who was standing at their feet, before smiling at Jade again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you” he told her, transferring Henry so he was in her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too” She readjusted Henry so he was resting on her hip, Beck rubbing her arm up and down as she did so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you three” Henry spoke up, laying his head against Jade’s shoulder, holding his stuffed animal close to his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you four” Beck kissed the top of Henry’s head before kissing Jade one last time. He made his way over to his car, stopping before unlocking it to watch Jade. He smiled as she set Henry down and gestured for him to get the soccer ball. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you ready to play soccer?” Henry nodded at her request “Come on, let’s play soccer”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She began to kick the ball towards the edge of their yard, Henry running after her. Just as Beck was getting into his car, he heard her yell “Score!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She picked up Henry and spun him around for a few seconds, both of them turning to see Beck’s car pulling away. “Say bye daddy!” she told Henry, waving to Beck’s car as Henry copied her movements. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck looked out his window and grinned at their waving before a call came in on his car radio </span>
  <em>
    <span>“we got a bank heist down at sixteenth avenue.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>---------</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>More radio calls kept coming in as Beck picked up the pace towards the bank. Every call sounded more and more urgent, but one particularly caught his attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>All units in the vicinity of sixteenth avenue, there’s a robbery in progress at Liberty Bank. Shots fired. I repeat shots have been fired. All units.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p><span>The dispatcher's voice got more pressing at the announcement of shots being fired, Beck sped up and answered </span><em><span>“</span></em><span>426 responding,</span> <span>on my way there.” He hit the button that turned on his car’s siren, making a turn down the road of sixteenth. </span></p><p>
  <span>He parked at the end of the street before exiting the car, making his way towards the back entrance of the bank. As he got closer, he was met by Bianca and Jeremy, two other officers in the vicinity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all got slightly closer to the bank, waiting at the back doors to see if anyone would come out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We better wait back, see if they come out or anyone else responds” Bianca told them, Beck and Jeremy nodding back before the sound of gunshots rang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck had closed his eyes at the startling sound, opening them to see the robbers trying to exit from the back. He realized they most of seen them standing at the back entrance waiting, and took it as a threat. They shot Bianca in the stomach and were going to try to make a run for it. Beck blinked fast and saw Bianca bleeding profusely before Jeremy grabbed him by the shoulder and moved them behind Beck’s car. They both ducked down behind the car, only being able to see over the hood of it. Beck pulled out his gun and fired back at them, Jeremy doing the same. Beck could’ve sworn he had shot down the guy who shot Bianca, but wasn’t sure, everything becoming blurry as more gunshots sounded. Beck had managed to open up one of the car’s doors as a block from the gunshots, both of them ducking down behind it .They stayed lowered to the ground and watched as the robbers went back inside the bank, gunshots coming to a halt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck lifted himself up slightly so he was on his knees and grabbed the radio in the car, calling out</span>
  <em>
    <span> “We got a 10-13 officer down, I repeat officer down, shots fired”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-------</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade hadn’t been planning on going into work today, Saturdays were usually her day off. There were obviously times where she would get called in on her day off, the BAU being assigned to an immediate case, but it was rare. So when she got the call that the BAU was needed for a local bank heist that had hostages, she knew it was serious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It became even more serious when she found out that the responding officers that were already there had been shot at. She knew Beck was one of the detectives that had been called down and her worry began to grow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their jobs were dangerous, that’s just how it worked, they had become accustomed to it. But Jade couldn’t stop herself from panicking as she sat in the BAU’s SUV that was making its way towards the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pulled up to the bank and before Jade could process what she was doing, she was out of the car, running towards where everyone else was gathered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She caught sight of Vega and Andre before her eyes landed on Beck. She stopped in her tracks, sighing in relief before running again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled Beck into a hug, her arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders as she whispered a small “are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear a slight trace of fear in her voice as she talked, and he held her tighter against him. “Yeah I’m okay, I promise” he whispered back, he noticed the others had moved away from them slightly and gave them space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t let go of the embrace as he spoke up again “Where’s Henry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I left him at the house with the babysitter, he’s safe” Jade reassured, finally letting go of Beck and turning to make her way to where everyone else was gathered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The media is calling the robbers the face cards, they’ve performed seven robberies in seven months and have shot at least one person at each robbery” Jade heard Robbie tell the group as they approached them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you’re telling me they’re serial killers with only a 30 day cooling off period and we’re only just now hearing about them?” Tori questioned, all of them walking down the street towards the side entrance of the bank.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well the FBI has always considered them robbers first, then killers second” Robbie told her, coming to a stop about twenty feet away from the bank’s entrance. They all stopped after him and gave him confused looks, asking why the FBI wouldn’t consider this serious beforehand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody kills seven people without having serious psychopathic tendencies” Cat told them. They all nodded at what she said before looking at Robbie again for further explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I disagreed with the assessment and said it was more serious than just robberies, but was overruled” Robbie said, Trina mumbling a small “that’s stupid” that got an eye roll from everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else do we know about them?” Jade spoke up, interlacing her fingers with Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re organized, they’re efficient and they’ll do anything to make their plan successful” Robbie told her, turning around so they could continue walking closer to the bank.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They approached one of the FBI’s RV’s that were at the corner of the street, Andre speaking up “they must’ve been scouting out the banks in advance, why can’t we ID them from the surveillance footage?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie entered into the RV first, moving towards Sinjin sitting at the computer monitor, everyone else following.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They hacked into the security system and turned off the cameras, both before and during the robbery” Robbie explained “The cameras only turned back on after they had put the masks on, now we’re able to watch but not see their faces.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all stood behind Sinjin sitting at the monitor and watched as an argument took place between the robbers. Cat asked that Sinjin focus in on one of the camera angles and pointed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, one of the masked robbers is bleeding, look down there on the ground” She showed them what she was looking at and furrowed her eyebrows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the one that I shot” Beck told the group, squinting at the monitor to get a closer look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shot one of them?!” Jade’s eyes widened as she turned from her spot standing next to him, grabbing his arm and glaring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They shot at us first, took down Bianca, who almost bled out before medical got there” Beck told them, Cat whispering a tiny “oh no” before their attention was drawn back to the monitors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, they’re using the hostages as human shields” Trina spoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the first time, out of seven robberies, that they’ve been interrupted, what went wrong?” Jade asked, looking confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a big bank, maybe they weren’t able to round up all the hostages before somebody sounded an alarm?” Tori offered, shrugging her shoulders and keeping her stare on the video footage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re cornered now though, so why haven’t they cut the video feed?” Andre asked Tori, more confusion appearing on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Letting us see inside the bank gives us a tactical advantage” Trina nodded with Andre. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t seem to care that we can see” Beck spoke before Jade scoffed “They’re overconfident and arrogant, the face masks they’re wearing add to that narcissism.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“West, Valentine, and Vega go look at past robberies so we can see victimology, pull another analyst if you need to” Robbie ordered. Jade gave Beck’s hand a small squeeze before following Cat and Tori out of the RV.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trina you’re in charge of negotiations” Robbie ordered Trina before turning to look at Andre “and you strategize ways to enter into the bank safely with the police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina and Andre nodded at Robbie's orders before exiting out of the RV. Just as Beck was about to leave the RV, Sikowitz approached him and Robbie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief Sikwoitz” Robbie spoke, straightening himself up, looking between Beck and Sinjin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The director has ordered me to advise your operation, you’ll have to deal with it” Sikowitz rolled his eyes at Robbie before continuing “what’s your plan for entry?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re working on it, but it's not a good idea for us to enter, they have the hostages in front of the doors and windows, we could put them in danger” Robbie told him, looking at all the different video angles to find a better way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sikowitz nodded at his answer before turning to Beck “Have you figured out a negotiation strategy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,Trina was put in charge of that, but our best bet is that one of the masked robbers is bleeding out, so they’ll ask for medical attention” Beck suggested before Robbie interrupted him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, look at the woman robber’s body language, she’s very cold and detached, while the male robber seems genuinely concerned about his partner’s bleeding out. One of them is worried while the other couldn’t give a damn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sinjin?” Sikowitz spoke down to him, Sinjin looking up. “Go through databases and try to figure out who they are” Sinjin nodded at the request before typing away hastily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina, Robbie and Beck stood at one of the tents placed outside the bank. Trina had come up with the plan to try to call the bank to get one of the robbers to negotiate with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m special agent Trina Vega, I’m with the FBI, who am I speaking to?” Trina spoke into the phone with a firm voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The phone volume was loud enough so Robbie and Beck could hear the robbers answer “Alright listen, I want a doctor sent in here and then we want to leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we can certainly discuss that” Trina said “You let the hostages go and we’ll send in all the medical help you need” she offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>An almost sarcastic laugh came through the phone before the robber replied “I can’t do that, I need leverage and those hostages are our leverage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then how about you show us a sign of good faith, you send out the women and children hostages, and I’ll see what I can do to get medical attention sent in” Trina offered again, using a persuading voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a pause on the phone before a scream came through, Beck recognized the scream as a little girl’s and figured they must’ve grabbed one of the children hostages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes and sighed with worry, rubbing his temple with his fingers before a female voice came through on the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either we get what we want or everyone in this bank dies” the woman spoke into the phone, all of them sharing worried glances with each other at her proposal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina tried her best to stay calm before speaking again “If you do that, you get nothing” she said through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a few seconds of silence before a startling gunshot. They all flinched from the noise on the phone before Beck spoke “they just shot a hostage” he told Robbie and Trina. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as Robbie began to pace, trying to think. Trina still held the phone close to her, another voice coming in, it was the man’s voice again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better get us what we want, or more people are going to die” the man’s voice said before a dial tone came through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They hung up on me” Trina told them, setting down the phone and beginning to pace just like Robbie was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck was about to try to get Robbie and Trina to stop pacing before Sikowitz approached them “We’re sending in a medic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of helicopters and police sirens was so loud they could barely hear each other, but Robbie’s voice was loud enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we send in a medic that’s just giving them another hostage” he tried to disagree with Sikowitz, but it was no use.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they stop shooting people, it’s worth it” Sikwoitz shot back at Robbie. Beck wanted to step in and side with Robbie, but he didn’t know if that was a good idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you get it?” Trina asked, anger present in her tone. “If we give into one demand, we’ll have to give into them all” she tried to persuade him, but it didn’t work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The director disagrees” Sikowitz shrugged at her before looking at Robbie since it was his call to make. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie sighed and rubbed underneath his glasses before saying “at least make it an agent with medical training, that way he can take advantage of an opportunity if it comes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina scoffed at Robbie’s demand but didn’t disagree with him, Sikwoitz nodding with a quick “fine” before walking back to the other agents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do they know that the robbers will act rationally? We have zero evidence that they will” Trina questioned him, getting anxious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is personal for the male robbers, when I shot one of them, the other helped him out and brought him back into the bank. The woman robber was more concerned about finding a way out of the bank, but the male wanted to help his partner” Beck stepped in, looking at the ground and clenching his jaw, coming up with a conclusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sinjin?” Robbie turned on his connected microphone, trying to connect with Sinjin, who was still sitting at the surveillance monitor in the RV. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got the okay that Sinjin was listening before continuing “narrow down your database search, we think that the two male robbers are siblings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin answered back with a swift “roger that” before turning off his microphone. Robbie did the same before looking at Beck and Trina, all of them turning to face the bank with uneasiness.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seven different robberies and nobody has been able to build a sketch of the robbers before they put their masks on” Tori told Cat and Jade, setting down the papers she was holding onto the table. The three girls had transferred into a different RV than the one Sinjin was in, needing space to spread papers around and look over them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The victims of the robberies probably can’t describe what the robbers look like accurately because of their suffered trauma” Cat suggested, twirling a pen in her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well this is the biggest bank they’ve hit so far, before it was all just smaller ones in rural communities” Jade looked over the file in her hand, biting on her pen slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this bank was always a part of their plan, but why? Why did they decide to go after a bank this big? To make some sort of statement?” Tori asked before the door of the RV opened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I looked at maps and blueprints of the previous banks they’ve gone to, and this is the first one with metal detectors” Burf told them, carrying a blueprint of the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laid the blueprint down on the table, Cat setting down the pen she was holding and asking “Maybe that’s what went wrong? They didn’t know about the metal detectors?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No that’s not it” Tori told her, glancing at all of them before continuing “They’ve gone over the banks too well in advance, they would know to be ready for metal detectors.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well look, there is one thing all of the robberies have in common” Jade spoke up, rotating the papers she was holding “the female robber is the only one who ever shoots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori looked down at the table, seemingly confused and thinking at the same time. Cat’s eyebrows knitted together at this and she began to twirl her pen in her hair, giving Jade a confused look. Jade just shrugged back at her before Burf sat down and they all began to go through papers again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie and Beck had made their way back into the RV that Sinjin was located in, pacing back and forth down the hallway as Sinjin scanned through databases. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rob, look I might’ve found something” Sinjin spoke up,moving his glasses up his nose more. Robbie and Beck stopped their pacing at this and bended down so they could see what Sinjin found. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I scanned their height and weight measurements and crossed it with offenders who specialize in bank robberies and home burglaries” Sinjin told them before Robbie nudged his shoulder, gesturing for him to keep going. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I found these brothers, Chris and Ben Scranton. They’re thieves from Philly turned bank robbers in New Jersey. They were put in jail for two years after a failed attempted heist, but were released nine months ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they were released nine months ago that means they were out of jail before these robberies started seven months ago, this could be them” Beck spoke, looking at Robbie hopefully before patting Sinjin on the shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t the database connect them before?” Robbie questioned with uncertainty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because they’ve never had a third partner before, and they’ve also never done any shooting, that was the female robber” Sinjin responded, pulling up their pictures on the monitor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks like before they weren’t very successful criminals, maybe adding the female partner improved their game?” Beck cocked his head to the side, trying to come up with more reasons as to why they’d have a new partner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, every time the woman has shot someone, it’s been a different type of victim. She’s shot a mother, a manager, even a young child” Jade winced as Cat brought that up, looking back down at the array of papers they had set up on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade glanced down at the pictures from previous bank robberies and spoke up “she shoots them in the gut, then leaves them on the floor as they bleed out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s a sadist then, she gets off on her victims' pain and the fear it brings others around her” Tori spoke, looking at the pictures Jade was holding, like she was connecting the dots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It also seems like the male robbers are in charge of getting the money while the woman is keeping track of time, making sure they’re done in less than two minutes” Cat leaned over to look at the pictures Jade and Tori were holding, Burf doing the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s in way more control of the heist than she lets on, the two men have no idea” Tori took the pictures out of Jade’s hands and began to walk around the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we turn the female robber and the male robber, who isn’t shot, against each other, that could be our key to getting inside the building” Cat suggested, nodding at her own idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, the woman is the only one who does the shooting, the male robber isn’t a killer, he could be our in” Jade agreed with her, taking a sip of her coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Won’t that only work if the other male robber that Beck shot doesn’t bleed to death?” Burf questioned, Cat pouting at that realization before Burf kept going “If the other male robber dies then….” he trailed off his thought, all of them nodding and understanding what would happen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should go to the other RV and see what the others got” Tori spoke, moving back over to the table to pick up her laptop and files. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all followed her out of the RV, moving across the road and entering into Sinjin’s RV. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening?” Jade questioned, setting her stuff down on a nearby table and putting her arm around Beck’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Andre is preparing an agent with medical training to go into the bank, we also found out that the two male robbers' names are Ben and Chris.” Beck told her, gesturing up at the monitor in front of them that had surveillance footage of Andre and another agent standing outside the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade nodded at what he said before turning her attention to the footage, she watched as Andre gave the agent a gun, but put it in the bag instead of letting him carry it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d he do that?” Tori questioned, noticing the same thing Jade did. “He won’t be able to draw his weapon if they fire at him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s probably a safer bet to put it in the bag with the medical supplies than on him, they’ll most likely search him when he enters the building” Beck told her, crossing his arms in front of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one final pat on the back, Andre had sent the agent into the bank and Sinjin changed the monitor so the main screen was on the bank footage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to call into the bank to tell them the medic is coming in” Trina said, biting her lip nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She picked up the phone as everyone watched her, it rang for a few seconds before a voice, at an almost shouting level, came through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why hasn’t anyone come in yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re sending in a medic now Chris, tell Ben he’s going to be okay and help is on the way” Trina tried to be reassuring, using the robbers names for the first time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry up” Chris shouted through the phone before hanging up, making Trina jump slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she set the phone back down, Cat shrieked “Look!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all turned and watched as the female robber, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who’s name was still unknown, </span>
  </em>
  <span>removed her mask from her face and began to look directly into the camera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ew, what’s she doing” Trina asked in disgust as the woman pulled out a tube of red lipstick and applied it on her lips slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s mocking us” Beck sighed “She knows that we only know Chris and Ben’s names, her identity is still a secret.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening now?” Robbie questioned, turning their attention back to the monitor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The medic just got inside the building, the woman’s checking to see if he has his gun on him. It looks like Ben isn’t doing too well right now, he looks close to bleeding out” Burf spoke up from his spot sitting at the monitor next to Sinjin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched as the medic began to use CPR on Ben and try to bandage his wounds, Chris watching from the side while the woman kept her eyes on the hostages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the RV slammed open as Andre came in, asking what was happening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The medic is using a small ventilator pump to try to keep Ben breathing, he doesn’t look like he's going to make it” Jade answered honestly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t good Robbie, what’s he going to do?” Tori asked with concern, shaking Robbie’s shoulder slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed her off and turned to Andre “Tell the agent to make a move before Chris does, Ben isn’t going to make it. Radio into the medic and tell him to make a move.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to make a move now agent, now!” Andre turned on his walkie that was connected to the agents and shouted into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all leaned into the monitor and watched intently. Before they could even process what had happened, they all jumped. A shot was fired. They kept their eyes closed for another second, hoping that the agent had a chance to fire first. When they opened their eyes, they were met with a different sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched in horror as the medic looked down to see the bullet hole through his chest. Right as he looked up at Chris, he was shot again, this time through the head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat whimpered at the sight on the monitor, Tori drawing her close to her side, letting Cat bury her head into her shoulder. Jade's mouth hung open as she kept her stare on the monitor, eyes glaring in fear. Beck grabbed her hand and intertwined it with his, not taking his eyes away from the screen. Robbie and Andre lowered their heads in defeat and Trina had her hand covering her mouth. Sinjin whispered out a small “oh my god” as Burf covered his eyes with his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the RV slammed open, Tori being the only one to see Sikowitz enter, the rest keeping their gazes on the video footage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell just happened?” He asked, looking at Robbie for an answer while pushing Tori and Cat out of the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie didn’t answer him though as he pushed past everyone and made his way out of the RV while talking “Tell SWAT to get into positions, we’re issuing a full tactical assault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Beck glanced at each other before they all followed Robbie out of the RV, Burf and Sinjin being the only ones staying to watch the monitors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The snipers are in positions” Cat updated Robbie, trying to keep up with his fast moving pace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rob, we need to be careful with this, our last orders cost us an agent” Beck warned, stopping in front of Robbie to get him to slow down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The SWAT’s ready to fire” Jade caught up with them, standing next to Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You remind the SWAT that nobody fires until they’re ordered to” Andre told her, agreeing with Beck that they shouldn’t proceed with a full blown attack just yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happens when the SWAT team does start to fire? The hostages are just caught in the middle? We can’t do that Rob” Beck spoke, trying to coax Robbie into agreeing with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do then?” Robbie cried out, nerves and anxiety taking over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buy us a little time, reasoning with them is still our best option” Beck encouraged, glancing at Andre who was nodding in agreement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie sighed before nodding, stepping away with Cat to find Tori and Trina. Beck and Jade both turned to look at Andre, who looked uneasy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be hard to reason with them, Chris just lost his brother and then murdered someone in retaliation, we’re dealing with two killers now” he spoke up, looking at both Beck and Jade to get his point across.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, let’s go back into the RV with Sinjin and Burf, we’ll figure it out” Beck told him, wrapping his arm around Jade’s waist and moving them back towards the RV, Andre following. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the three of them entered into the RV, they saw everyone else was already there. Robbie and Cat had found Tori and Trina, and they’d all gone back inside to watch the surveillance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck and Jade moved to the side as an intern agent came into the RV, “Miss Vega someone from Interpol in Paris is on the phone” the intern spoke, holding up the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just take a message” Tori answered back quickly, not tearing her eyes away from the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you want me to do that miss, it’s Lane Napper, he says he has information on the female robber” the intern kept going, passing the phone to Tori, who looked confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your old boss from Paris? The agency you worked with before coming to the BAU?” Cat questioned, getting a nod in response from Tori before she left the RV to answer the call. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lane, you said you can help us, what do you know?” Tori asked, talking quickly in hopes of getting some answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If the woman robber seems familiar to you, she should. Before you were relocated at the BAU, there was a robbery in Paris” Lane told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh right! Someone was killed” Tori remembered, rubbing her forehead with her hand “It was a gut shot, wasn’t it” she continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you know?” Lane asked but was interrupted by Tori.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the woman’s signature thing, shooting people in the gut to kill them, But I don’t remember anyone from the Paris robbery wearing a mask?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s because she didn’t wear a mask” Lane replied “She’s able to keep her identity secret even without a mask, over six different intelligence agencies have seen her on camera and can’t identify her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that possible?” Tori was now shouting into the phone, getting stressed. “Wait, who were her partners at the robbery in Paris?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t have any” Lane told her, Tori brought her fingernail up to her mouth as she continued to think. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So then why would she need partners now?” Tori asked. Lane was about to answer her, say he didn’t know why,  but Tori stopped him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks so much Lane, i’ll call if we need more help” she hung up quickly, running back into the RV to talk to the others. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up?” Jade turned her eyes away from the video footage to see what Tori had to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I worked in Paris, there was a big bank robbery, someone was killed from a gunshot to the gut. The robbery was carried out by the female robber, but she was alone, she didn’t have partners” Tori said, hands moving frantically as she explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why does she need the Scranton brothers to be her partners now then?” Trina asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what we need to figure out” Tori picked up a random cup of coffee, not carrying who’s it was as she drank it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think the seven earlier robberies were just training runs for the Scranton brothers? That this big one was their end goal?” Jade questioned, crossing her arms in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, I mean the brothers were amateurs before they met her. Now, they’re efficient, elite bank robbers” Beck shrugged before copying Jade’s movement and crossing his arms in front of himself too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re definitely efficient. Before, they were attacking on deposit days, where there was the most amount of cash” Tori spoke “But today’s a Saturday, meaning more families are present and there’s more foot traffic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So they did a riskier attack today” Cat seemed like she was understanding what Tori was saying, fiddling with her hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They have an audience too, look at all the media attention they have right now” Trina agreed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That explains why the woman is so vain, applying lipsticks for the cameras and not searching for an exit strategy when she said that’s what she was doing” Andre added on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well the brothers are in it for the money, what’s she in it for?” Jade asked, setting down her coffee cup and leaning in to get a closer look at the monitor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to call again, there has to be some way to negotiate with them” Trina didn’t give anyone the chance to argue with her before picking up the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you want to end this Chris?” Trina spoke into the phone with irritation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want out of here” Chris spoke back in the same irritated tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well how do you propose we do that?” Trina smiled sarcastically as she talked, eyeing the others as they looked at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want an armored truck and a flight to Switzerland” Chris told them, Jade almost laughed at the request, but bit her lip to stop herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina was about to keep talking, tell them they were never getting a flight to anywhere, but the woman’s voice cut through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no no, we want a flight to Chad, not Switzerland” She told them with determination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah, Chad. And this time, no agents with guns, we’ll fly ourselves if that’s what it takes” Chris said before hanging up the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the significance of Chad?” Trina asked, turning the phone off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chad’s in the middle of a civil war because of political instability” Cat blurted out the random fact. They thought over what she said for a minute before Tori pulled out her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to call Lane, see if he has any idea” She told them, putting the call on speaker so they could all hear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Lane could start talking, Tori beat him to it “our girl wants to go Chad, you’re my best shot at figuring out why.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chad huh?” Lane asked “not exactly the most hospitable place this time of year.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They said they could fly themselves there, nothing suggests Chris has this ability, so the woman must” Jade leaned over to speak into the phone, Tori moving it so Lane could hear her voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m sorry, but our agency in London doesn’t have many connections to the country of Chad” Lane told them, Tori sighing in defeat at his answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks anyways” She spoke before hanging up the call and putting her phone back in her pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t get it, these guys were too good to get caught, so why did they?” Cat asked, throwing her hands up as a sign of frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This morning 911 received a call alerting them to a robbery </span>
  <em>
    <span>in progress” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Beck spoke, biting his lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually it was a text, not a call” Sinjin spoke up from his spot sitting at the computer monitor “911 messaging was made this year” he added on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you trace the text, see where it came from?” Robbie asked, placing a hand on Sinjin’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes I can, the text was sent from a phone that is currently inside the bank” Sinjin told them, they all gave confused glances to each other before Sinjin kept going. “The phone was registered under the name Larry Phillips Jr.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to be kidding me” Robbie said, putting his hands on his head and closing his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why does that name sound familiar?” Beck asked the question they were all thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause it’s the name of one of the gunmen from the ‘97 north California bank shootout” Robbie replied, Cat rubbing his shoulder as he kept his eyes closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this is an homage then?” Trina asked, her face tightening as she cocked her head to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys, this text was sent 30 seconds before the security system was blacked out” Sinjin told them, looking at the text records.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that even possible?” Sikowitz questioned, entering the RV and hearing a tad bit of the conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because the text was sent by one of the robbers, not a hostage” Beck answered before Jade finished his sentence “the woman wanted us here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had all exited out of the RV and moved back onto the streets surrounding the bank, trying to figure out an entryway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre and Beck had blueprints of the bank laying on top of one of the cars, looking for a way to enter from the vault. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no clear line of sight to the vault” Beck told Andre, shrugging his shoulders while looking at the blueprints.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s not, but if we do enter, that’s where they’ll go, so we need to be ready for it” Andre said as Tori and Jade approached them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has something bigger in mind for this, she has to, what’s a narcissist without attention?” Jade told them, all of them nodding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can figure out what she has in mind by separating her and Chris” Tori suggested, nodding her head at the bank in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not going to be hard, they’re already on edge” Andre picked up the blueprint of the bank and folded it back up, staring at the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys! Robbie needs all of us back into the RV, somebody is hacking into the surveillance footage, it’s important” Cat called to the four of them from a few feet away, making her way to the RV. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They followed where she went and saw Trina, Robbie, Sikowitz, and Burf standing behind Sinjin who was typing on the monitor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Media outlets are hacking in, but it’s more than that Rob” Sinjin spoke, none of them noticing Cat, Tori, Jade, Andre and Beck enter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anonymous entities are hacking in as well” Sinjin told them, not taking his eyes off the screen. “I was going through IP Addresses, and someone hacked into the cameras at 7am this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that how they shut down the cameras for entry?” Trina asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No Trina, this is an entirely different hack, one that’s still working” Sinjin answered her right away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So then somebody else is watching, but who?” Trina kept going, cracking her knuckles as she fidgeted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoever the woman robber wants attention from” Robbie spoke, looking at the ground as if a light bulb had gone off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought she wanted attention from the media and us, that’s why she’s a narcissist” Cat pestered, not getting what everyone else was thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Us and the media haven’t been able to witness one of their robberies until today, but she gets all ready every time”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because someone is always watching” Tori finished Andre’s thought, all of them now thinking the same thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her real partner is always watching, a fourth criminal” Beck finished, watching them move on the surveillance footage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt she brought up this fourth partner to Chris” Jade told them, bringing her hair up into a ponytail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then I think it’s time we bring Chris up to speed” Trina told them, reaching to grab the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The call picked up after a couple rings and Trina wasted no time talking. “Guess what my favorite card in poker is Chris”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that” he answered back just as fast as she had started talking, not wasting time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The wild card” Trina responded with a smirk, hand resting on her hip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmmm, I don’t believe in wild cards, they dumb down the game.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I couldn’t agree with you more, but I’m sorry, in this case, you’re the ones who’s dumb” Trina kept going, still smirking the same way. Tori smiled at her sister as she stood next to her, almost finding her words funny if the situation wasn’t so serious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So your new negotiation tactic is insulting me? That's cute” Chris tried to bite back but Trina couldn’t be bothered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh it’s not a tactic, it’s a fact” Trina said “Don’t you wonder why you got caught? What went wrong when you thought you did everything right? Well guess what, we got a message from inside the bank before you started shooting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Impossible” Chris said, but they could all hear the uncertainty in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know it wasn’t you, and I don’t think it was your brother, so who does that leave?” Trina pondered, tapping her chin with her finger even though Chris couldn’t see her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lying”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ask her, see for yourself” Trina encouraged. There was a brief moment of silence before they heard Chris ask the woman if she texted the police. They could hear the woman reply </span>
  <em>
    <span>“is that what they’re telling you”</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Trina knew this was her moment to get in Chris’ head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not an answer” Trina chimed in before the woman kept on talking </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course not, what do you think? they’re trying to turn us against each other.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They could hear the confusion in Chris’ voice through the phone speaker “why would you do that? Ben is dead because of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wouldn’t, I’m trapped here too” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The woman tried to get Chris to believe her, but they could hear movement through the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What just happened?” Cat whispered to Beck who was standing next to her. They both looked at the monitor playing the security footage and Beck started to explain to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He just pulled out his gun on her, he’s doubtful right now and she can sense it” Beck whispered back, keeping his attention on the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’ve come too far for you to start doubting me now, lost too much, don’t let them tear us apart. Right as we’re about to win. If you do that, Ben’s death won’t mean anything.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The woman spoke with confidence now as she got closer to Chris, her voice becoming louder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina put the phone on mute for a second, turning to them all and talking “She used Ben’s death as a way to persuade him, he’s not going to listen to us now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina was right, because now Chris was talking to them through the phone “enough, I’m done talking to you, I want to talk to someone who isn’t an </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole</span>
  </em>
  <span> face to face.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No more feds”</span>
  </em>
  <span> the woman’s voice cut in before Chris came back “I want to talk to the agent who shot my brother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A silence fell over the group. Beck’s eyes widened as they all looked at him, Jade immediately gripped onto his arm, fingers curling around his sleeve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris hung up the phone after that and nobody said anything. They all looked at Beck, but didn’t speak, Jade was practically clutching onto Beck now, not letting go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no they can forget it” She spoke up, looking at Robbie to make it clear that Beck was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going in there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade, if it means that we can end this….” Beck trailed off, taking her hand off of his sleeve and holding it with his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, what makes you think that he won’t shoot you the minute you step inside” Jade’s voice got louder, more strong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, he wants out of there just as much as we want him out”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not happening, forget it” Jade said with an almost scared laugh, looking between Beck and Robbie, holding onto Beck’s hand tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her eyebrows at Robbie, trying to get him to agree with her, convince Beck that </span>
  <em>
    <span>no he was not doing this. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no guarantee that he won’t retaliate for the death of his brother” Robbie sighed, Jade nodding in agreement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck looked down, knowing he was losing this battle to Robbie and Jade and nobody else was saying anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’d do it if you were me” he said to Andre. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade rolled her eyes and looked at Andre, glaring at him to side with her, not Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck I get what you're feeling” Andre started off “But you are too close to this case to make that call.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re damn right I’m close” Beck felt himself start to get angry “four people are dead because I shot his brother, no one else should die because of what I did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t about you” Tori tried to tell him, Jade cutting in “risking your life won’t bring them back” she said, looking down at their interlaced hands and moving her thumb along his knuckle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “I’m sorry Beck, but I’m saying no to this one” Robbie told him, nobody trying to disagree. Robbie gestured for Trina to pick up the phone and call back and she complied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s that agent huh? I don’t have all day” Chris said the minute he answered the call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What you're asking for is difficult” Trina tried to give a sign that they weren’t sending Beck in, but Chris didn’t take the hint. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then I’ll make it easy for you, you send in the agent and I’ll let a couple of hostages go, it’d be a sign of good faith, isn't that what you said?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sending out hostages would be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>great first step</span>
  </em>
  <span> in solving this conflict, but we can’t send somebody else in to be killed” Trina tried to make it clear as possible, but it was no use. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t up for debate” Chris told her before hanging up the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the line went dead, none of them said anything, until Cat spoke up with a small whisper “what do we do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before any of them could answer her, a call came through on the phone. Trina answered it and they could hear Chris’ voice. But it sounded distant, like he was in the background of the call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell them your name” Chris said, they all looked up at the monitor with the footage playing and saw that Chris had one of the hostages holding the phone, while he pointed a gun at their head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is....it’s Shawn Harper” the unfamiliar voice came through, immediately after he spoke, a gunshot rang. They all flinched as some of them watched the screen, watching Shawn’s body fall to the ground. Beck and Jade gulped at the same time before turning their attention to Trina holding the phone. She looked like she was going to be sick as she made eye contact with all of them. Cat had started crying and everyone else was tense, Trina’s knuckles turning white from holding the phone so tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They could hear the other hostages' screams in the background of the call before Chris started talking into the phone “Oh wow, you just killed Shawn Harper, not me, you! And I’m gonna shoot another hostage every sixty seconds until you send in that agent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dial tone sounded again as Chris hung up. Jade’s face had gone white as a sheet and Cat was whimpering. Jade let go of Beck’s hands and moved them so they were holding onto his sleeve again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Screw this, I’m going in” Beck spoke up, attempting to get Jade to let go of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you are not, I am not letting you go in there Beck” Jade told him sternly, not letting up on her grip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both turned to Robbie, knowing it was his call to make on what to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He breathed in deeply, looking at both Beck and Jade before saying “you’re not going in there, we are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gestured for Jade, Andre, Tori and Cat to move out of the RV with him so they could prepare to get into the building, just as another call came in on the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck, Sinjin, Trina and Burf listened as Chris screamed at whoever was holding the phone to “tell them your name.” They could hear the whimpers of a teenage girl before she whispered “Annie, my name is Annie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry Annie, Help is on the way to come get you” Trina tried to be as reassuring as possible, mask the fear in her voice, but Chris kept talking in the background. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got about 30 seconds Annie, I hope Agent Trina isn’t going to make me shoot you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina flinched at Chris’ words, she closed her eyes that were filled with tears, trying to keep a calm front. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They could hear commotion in the background of the call, Chris was talking to someone, but they couldn’t make out who so they looked up at the monitor. They watched as he spoke to another hostage, a man. The talking went on for a few seconds, but wasn’t loud enough for them to hear through the phone. The next thing they knew, Chris was moving Annie away from the phone and putting the other hostage in her place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We got a new contender!” He said loud enough so they could hear, he was almost laughing with insanity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new hostage being held at gunpoint said his name into the phone and that’s when Beck made the decision for himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade, Andre and Tori were standing near one of the cars outside of the bank, they watched as the snipers got on both sides of the bank door, ready to fire when signaled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were going over the blueprints one last time, Jade looking up from them resting on the car’s trunk. She saw Beck making his way towards the bank’s main entrance and asked “what is he doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew he could hear her as he kept walking and that’s when it clicked in her brain. He was going into the bank. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unarmed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was going to give them what they wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The realization of what he was doing must’ve also come to Tori and Andre because just as Jade began to move towards Beck, Andre pulled her back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no no no Andre!-” Jade shouted, trying to fight out of Andre’s grip, smacking Tori’s arm that was grabbing her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me go, Andre!” Jade shouted, Andre almost having to pick her up off the ground as she continued to fight back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do that” Andre told her, keeping a tight hold as they watched Beck make his way up to the front doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck! Beck! Beck!” Jade called out, screaming at him now, her voice cracked as the fear came through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched as he held up his hands to show he had no weapon, ready to push open the bank’s doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put me down!” She screamed at Andre, shoving his hands off of her as she started to breathe heavily “Beck stop!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck pulled open the bank’s door with one hand, keeping his other in the air. He was met with the faces of multiple hostages, hearing the hostage on the phone repeat his name again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look” the woman robber shouted at Chris, he turned from watching the hostage on the phone to see Beck entering into the bank. He kept the gun loaded in one of his hands as he pushed the hostages out of the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pointed the gun directly at Beck, almost grinning at him. Beck took a deep breath before speaking out “Let these people go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right fine” Chris moved forward a little bit, pushing a woman on the shoulder, saying “Women and kids out, now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck stepped away from the door, hands still in the air, letting the women and children run out of the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade heard the call come in on the radio “</span>
  <em>
    <span>we have people exiting the bank, hold your fire” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She watched from behind the car as women and children left the bank, one of the kids crying. The crying reminded her of Henry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh god Henry. What was she supposed to do without Beck? What was Henry supposed to do without his dad? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The thoughts ran through her head at a rapid pace, her breathing getting unsteady. She watched as one of the snipers grabbed the women and kids and guided them away from the bank, out of danger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck tried to keep a calm composure as Chris asked him “hey, what’s your name?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck Oliver, special agent and detective” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris turned around and smiled at the woman partner before looking at Beck again. He glanced at him up and down one last time before firing. Beck collapsed as the bullets hit him, both near his upper chest. He fell on the floor and felt his eyes closing, the world around him going dark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade heard the gunshots immediately and knew what it was. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They had shot Beck. And it sounded like more than once. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She could feel herself start to hyperventilate, she tried to make a run towards the entryway but was stopped by Andre again. She scrambled in his arms for a few moments, her ponytail becoming loose from the movement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew it was no use trying to fight her way out of Andre’s grip so she slowed down. She threw her hands to the top of her head and began to whimper. “No no no” she whispered, eyes filling up with tears as she moved one hand to cover her mouth, suddenly feeling nauseous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori tried to rub her shoulder, Andre kept himself in front of her, trying to talk. Robbie and Cat had made their way over to where they were standing but Jade wasn’t paying attention to any of it. The only thoughts she could process right now were </span>
  <em>
    <span>Beck, Gunshots, Henry, Beck, Gunshots, Henry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew she was sobbing at that point, she watched as Andre gestured to Robbie and they both went to either side of her, they placed their hands on her shoulders and moved her into one of the tents near the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori and Cat followed them, Cat even trying to get Jade some water but she denied it. Sitting on the edge of one of the tables and not speaking. She kept her gaze on the ground in front of her, nobody talked. They just watched as she tried to collect her breathing, but failed. She couldn’t stop the uneven breaths from leaving her mouth, and her eyes felt bloodshot from crying so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin and Burf entered the tent where they were all located and Jade’s head immediately snapped up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were watching the surveillance footage, did you see where he was shot?” She asked Sinjin in a cold tone, staring at him intensely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin glanced at Robbie and bit his lip, unsure of if he should answer her or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he alive or dead Sinjin?” She asked, not breaking her cold stare, all of them shifting uncomfortably. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, once they shot Beck, the video surveillance cut ” Sinjin answered her, trying to avoid eye contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was wearing a bulletproof vest, he might be okay” Tori tried to encourage her, but Jade just felt herself get more angry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Might be” She laughed a little as she said it, smiling with sarcasm before choking on another sob. Trina moved the tent’s flap and came into view, looking at a sobbing Jade before focusing on Robbie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not answering” She told him, gesturing to the phone in her hands. After many failed attempts at trying to call the robbers after they shot Beck, no luck. They had no idea what Beck’s condition was like right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get in there” Jade spoke, jumping off the table she was sitting on, getting ready to push through them and leave the tent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade, it’s too risky” Andre countered back, coming in front of her and causing her to stop. “We don’t have eyes in there anymore J, they cut the surveillance footage” he tried his best to convince her that going into the bank wasn’t a good idea, but he could tell it wasn’t working. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade turned to Robbie and wiped her nose, closing her eyes tightly before giving a dark look “Robbie” she said sternly, telling him with her gaze that </span>
  <em>
    <span>she needed to get in there, now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie watched as her red eyes stayed filled with tears, she wrapped her arms around herself tightly and he pondered over his options. He thought for a couple seconds before looking at her again “let’s go in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moved the flap of tent away and exited, Jade following right behind him. Everyone else exchanged confused and concerned glances before Cat, Andre, Trina and Tori followed them. Sinjin and Burf stayed placed in the tent, trying to figure out a way to get the monitor outside and get the video footage connection back on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck felt one of the hostages show another hostage how to hold his hands on Beck’s chest, telling him to apply pressure to where Beck had been shot. He still couldn’t open his eyes, but his thoughts were running. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jade, Henry, Jade, Henry. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't know exactly what he was thinking when he had made his way into the bank, just that he couldn’t let more people get hurt. Jade’s screams at him had been the most afraid he’d ever heard her, but he tried his best to block them out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His try wasn’t successful though, cause now all he could hear ringing through his head were her screams, begging him to stop and not go into the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing” he heard the female robber ask the hostage who had given directions on how to apply pressure to Beck’s bullet wound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A dead agent isn’t the best negotiation strategy for you, so I’m going to do my best to keep him alive” the hostage replied, picking up the medical bag the previous medic had brought in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck felt the hostage sit down next to him, he opened his eyes and looked at the bag the hostage was using to pull out medical supplies before listening to the conversation between Chris and the woman robber.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You took my advice” she told him, humor present in her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Chris asked, sitting in one of the chairs from the banks desks </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t go for the kill shot” She told him before they both stopped talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck closed his eyes at that news, sighing in relief. He didn’t know exactly where he had been shot, it all happening so fast, but he felt extreme pain in his chest and was worried they had aimed for his heart. At least now he knew that it was unlikely that he would die if they could get the bleeding under control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt the two men work with each other, pulling out medical supplies from the bag. One kept their hands still placed on Beck's chest with a cloth, while the other used a stethoscope to check his heartbeat and blood pressure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His blood pressure’s dropping, make sure you’re holding the cloth against him as tight as you can” One of the men told the other, before reaching to get more medical supplies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin and Burf had managed to get the monitor set up outside, connecting their radios to Cat’s so they could get updates when needed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s Jade?” Sinjin asked, turning on his mic so Cat could hear him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It’s bad Sinjin” Cat whispered into her microphone, probably keeping a quiet tone so a nearby Jade wouldn’t hear her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should be out there” Sinjin sighed “We’ve learned everything that we can from here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burf cut in at Sinjin’s idea, saying “No, we can help more by staying out here, we have a lot to go over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But seeing what’s happening outside won’t help us inside” Sinjin tried to persuade them with his idea that him and Burf can go into the bank with them, instead of staying at the monitors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sikowitz entered the tent and told them “sorry boys, but you’re staying right here, we already have too many agents going in as it is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin seemed to light up with an idea as Sikwoitz kept talking, he turned to one of the tables in the tent and picked up one of the bank's blueprints.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burf, can you pull up each of the surveillance feeds prior to Beck being shot?” Sinjin asked, leaning down so he was at equal level with Burt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, what are we looking for?” Burt asked, typing onto the monitor, trying to bring up the footage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The female robber disappeared once, said she was looking for an escape route out of the bank, but we know that’s not true. So what was she doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck groaned as the pressure being applied to his chest felt like he was being stabbed. The man applying the pressure whispered out a small “i’m sorry” before turning to look at the other man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep the pressure, keep the pressure” the other man encouraged,placing his hands on top of the others so the pressure wouldn’t falter. “The pain won’t kill him, but the loss of blood could” He told the man once more before looking at Beck again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just gotta hang in there buddy” he told Beck, Beck groaning in pain as a response. They both kept their hands pressed tightly on Beck’s chest, one of them speaking up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you armed?” he asked Beck in a quiet voice, Beck groaning out a “no before wincing in pain again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn” One of the men whispered, Beck couldn’t tell who at this point. “I think we might have a chance to escape here” the man on the left told them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Beck questioned him, raising his arm so he could help hold the cloth against his wound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The girl robber left to go look for another escape route and the guy is losing his mind, not paying any attention to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t know who to trust” Beck told them, his words coming out slowly as his breathing kept slowing down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then we can work them against each other” the man on the left kept on with his plan of escaping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, are you an agent?” Beck asked, recognizing the man’s strategy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a former marine” the man told him, but Beck barely processed what he had said, rolling his head back in agony. He felt his breathing get slower and slower and knew he had to say one more thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You gotta listen to me” he started out, his voice being so low and quiet to the point where the former marine and other man had to lean in to hear what he was saying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, I need you to get a message to my girlfriend” Beck told them carefully, the marine shaking his head at what Beck said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can tell her yourself when we get you out of here” the man encouraged him but Beck spoke up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm not getting out of here” Beck told them both, calculating his plan in his head “you need someone to cause a distraction.” With one final grunt of pain, he lifted himself off the ground, making sure to hold the cloth tightly against his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her name is Jade, and she’s a federal agent. You tell her I'm sorry.” Beck blinked while talking, trying to keep himself from fainting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry? Don’t you want to tell her that you love her or something?” the former marine asked Beck, coming to his side to help him stay upright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She already knows that” Beck told the marine helping him stand before he limped over to where Chris was sitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “The woman” Beck said, getting Chris’ attention, “what happened to her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you dead yet?” Chris replied sarcastically, clicking his tongue at Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t trust her” Beck kept going, “she’s taking orders from someone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she’s taking orders from me”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look around, any second now, agents are going to storm into this place, and the only bad guy I see is you. She’s setting you up to take the fall for this” Beck told him, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's not true” Chris didn’t make eye contact with Beck, rolling his eyes to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then where is she?” Beck wondered aloud, knowing he was getting inside Chris’ head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s back there” Chris gestured behind him with the gun in his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh” Beck gave Chris a small smirk, knowing his plan was working. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, fine then, you” Chris jumped off the table he was sitting on, pointing his gun at Beck “Come on, I’ll show you where she is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck stole one last glance at the former marine and other hostage, signalling for them to get everyone out of there, before he followed where Chris was going. Beck limped slightly as he walked and Chris went behind him, pointing the gun at his back and urging him to walk faster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before they turned down the hall that led to the back part of the bank, Beck heard the other man ask the marine “where are they going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s giving us our chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie, Jade, Andre, Cat, Tori and Trina were all armed and ready to enter the bank, just as a call came through on the radio. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got movement” one of the snipers called, signalling for them to stand ready in case a threat came out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Somebody’s coming out, be ready in case it’s the robbers” Andre spoke into his walkie, looking at Jade next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both aimed their guns at the door before seeing who was coming out,  “it’s hostages” Andre called into the radio, him and Jade lowering their guns. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hostages exited the building with their hands up in the air to show they were no threat as a sniper called in on the radio “copy, we’re standing by for entry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Several agents rushed up to the hostages and guided them away from the bank, back into a safe location. Jade sighed as she and Andre both registered what had happened. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Beck had figured out a way to get all of the hostages out safely. He was alive. But he was still in there.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-------</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck and Chris had made their way down to the bank’s basement, still looking for where the girl had gone. It was uncomfortable having the gun pressed into his back, and his wounds were still bleeding profusely but Beck was just glad he had gotten all the hostages out of the building. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They approached a door near the end of the hallway just as it was flung open. The woman stepped out, startled for a second, before giving Chris a devious smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are you doing down here? '' Chris asked, keeping the gun at an angle so it could be pointed at both Beck and the woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, you’ll find out soon” She kept her devious grin, moving some hair away from her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me now” Chris demanded, earning him a smirk from the woman who looked between him and Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going in” Andre called into his walkie attached to his vest, Jade standing ready behind him. They moved slowly towards the banks doors, Tori and a couple other snipers following behind them. Cat, Trina and Robbie stayed placed behind cars, guns pointed at the bank doors in case shots were fired at the others. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori and the snipers she had been placed with went to one of the bank's side entries, she swiftly opened up the door, allowing the snipers to go in first before following. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Andre made their way towards the front entrance, holding onto the armed SWAT members they had been placed with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin, Burt and Sikwoitz watched them go on the monitor footage, staying at their spots in the tent. Sinjin couldn’t help but feel like sending them in right now was a bad idea, his mind trying to come up with why he felt that way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked down at the bank’s blueprints one last time, scanning them over to see what he missed. Suddenly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>it clicked. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wasn’t looking for an escape route, she was following the building’s electrical lines…” he mumbled, Burf and Sikowitz turning their attention to him and watching as he traced his fingers on the edge of the blueprints.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was following the electrical lines because she was looking for the gas mains….oh no!” Sinjin shouted out before slamming onto the radio placed on the desk. “Robbie get them out of there!” he shouted, panic evident in his voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie got the message and looked at Trina and Cat who heard Sinjin’s call too. Trina and Cat stayed in their positions behind the car but Robbie shot up, he pressed down on the radio on his vest, calling out “Abort! Abort!” hoping that Andre, Jade and Tori would hear him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But his message wasn’t fast enough, Jade and Andre were five feet away from the building when they heard Robbie’s order. They didn’t have time to run away from the building before it exploded, Tori already inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The explosion knocked them all down, Jade felt herself go flying as she tried to cover her head, blocking debris from hitting her, Andre doing the same.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat and Trina felt the car push against them as the strong blow back from the explosion hit. Robbie had ducked down just in time and was only knocked over slightly by the explosion. The tent that Sinjin, Burf, and Sikowitz were in was blown away, leaving them and the monitor surrounded by the air filled with smoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade felt herself get flung onto the streets, her arms wrapping around her head as tightly as they could. The heat and smoke from the explosion took up the air around her and Jade kept her head down. All she was able to think was</span>
  <em>
    <span> if Beck had survived before, he definitely hadn’t this time.</span>
  </em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Every Ending Is Also A Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jade's just been caught in the bank's explosion. Beck's been shot twice, nobody knows if he made it out of the bank before the bomb went off. Their kid could be in potential danger. What else could go wrong?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi Hi! I'm back with part two (final part) to this AU. I'm sorry it took so long to upload it, I was totally planning on posting it last week but never got around to writing. Here it is now though, only took over 30 hours to write lmao. Some things I want to mention before starting are that the characters may seem ooc, oops. I based them off the criminal minds characters so that's why Cat is smart, Trina isn't annoying and Robbie is a leader and so on. Also Jade and Trina are good friends in this, deal w it. Actually everybody's friends in this, sorry I don't make the rules.<br/>What else can I say? Okay, for my criminal minds fans- Prentiss (Aka Tori) has a storyline about her leaving the BAU team, but I cut that out of this fic, I'm sorry :( And, in CM, Hotch (Aka Robbie) has a son named Jack and a girlfriend named Beth. I took out the part about him having a son but kept Beth in, I just changed her name to Gabriella. Also one last thing, Trina is a headcannoded lesbian for me so she has three ex wives in this fic. I think that's all I wanted to say. Anywaysss I'll let you read now, I hope you enjoy &lt;333</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jade’s senses were on overload. There were alarms and sirens going off somewhere near them, while a high pitched ringing brewed in her head. Her entire body felt sore, like she couldn’t move from her spot laying on the ground. She kept her arms placed protectively above her head, forehead placed against the ground, eyes closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She worked up the strength to roll over so she was laying on her back, eyes opening and blinking up at the sun. She could barely hear anything except the ringing in her head. She kept her glare up at the sun, forehead furrowing as she blinked. Andre called her name in the distance, him being thrown back somewhere around her. She turned her head so her ear was along the pavement, looking for him. She spotted Andre a few feet away from her, he was on his knees moving towards her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade, are you alright? Jade!” Andre kept calling to her as he inched closer. She tried to pick herself up off the ground, her head spinning twenty different directions. She looked up at the building in front of her, moving her head back and forth as she looked for the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“J, are you okay?” Andre placed his hands on Jade’s shoulder and back, lifting her off the ground slightly. She gave him a nod in response, not being able to focus on anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her thoughts came back to one point though. Something that mattered more than anything to do with her or how she was feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Beck?” She asked him, both of them gaining strength to hoist their bodies up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade looked around at the other agents and SWAT members, her head whipping around furiously as she kept asking “Where’s Beck? Did he get out of there? Is he okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched Trina and Cat lift themselves up from behind a car, making their way towards Sinjin, Burf, and Sikowitz, who were blocking their heads from smoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre followed her where she was looking, glancing to make sure everyone was okay before he remembered something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tori. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Tori?” He asked, Jade barely paying attention as she kept looking around, hoping to see Beck somewhere, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade figured with Andre looking around for Tori, this was her chance. He wouldn’t be able to hold her back, so she made a run for it. She ran straight at the bank’s doors, hearing Andre call out after her, SWAT members following them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She moved through the destroyed bank, stepping over the fallen ceiling and moving past blown up construction. She turned on the flashlight she had in her belt and began to move faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck?” She called out, moving her flashlight everywhere she looked. She heard Andre calling out Tori’s name behind her, but she didn’t turn around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck!” her tone got louder each time she called out for him. Her and Andre both made it further and further into the bank, pushing past everything that had been destroyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade saw bodies scattered along the bank’s floor, workers from the bank who hadn't been let out with the hostages. She leaned down to check one of the bank tellers pulses, but it was no use, they were dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina left Cat at the monitor’s desk with Burf and Sinjin as she went to talk to Sikowitz. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is going on here? You didn’t profile this as a suicide mission” Sikowitz questioned her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it wasn’t a suicide mission, they’d never kill themselves” Trina protested, not liking Sikowitz’s judgmental tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then what do you call that?” he countered back at her, moving his head to gesture at the destroyed bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They didn’t just improvise a way out, they’ve had an exit strategy planned the entire time. You don’t just learn explosives overnight” she shot back, giving him one final glare before walking away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She made her way over to where Robbie was talking to multiple agents and detectives, catching onto what he was saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re looking for parts of the bomb, I need every fragment of every device that you can find, no matter how small or destroyed it looks” he gave them the instructions of what they were looking for, then shooing them away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to more incoming agents and began to instruct  “I also need agents around every angle of the bank, you have photos of what the suspects look like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>find them</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin, Cat, and Burf approached Robbie and stood next to Trina, him immediately turning to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a positive identification of the woman robber yet?” Robbie asked Sinjin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not yet” Sinjin shook his head fast, nervous at all the commotion around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need more agents” Robbie shouted at Sikowitz, who was a few feet away from them, talking to hostages who had survived. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s homeland security?” Sikowitz shouted back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They just got here” Sinjin told them, nodding his head towards approaching guards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve seen Jade and Andre, but I haven’t seen Tori” Cat spoke up, coughing in between her words due to the smoke. She felt herself get frantic, worried for where her friends were. Robbie caught onto her panic and tried to keep himself calm, not wanting to freak her out more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Andre and Jade will find her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t worry”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tori? Tori!” Andre called out, moving back into the bank deeper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Over here” Tori called back to him, her voice cracking as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade found where her voice had come from first. Finding Tori sheltered back in one of the bank’s corners, ceiling parts leaning over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you all right?” She asked Tori, seeing the two other people Tori had found in the back corner. It was a man and a woman. They looked old, couldn’t have been younger than seventy. They must have found time to get back here and hide before the robbers lined the other hostages up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I’m fine, they were hiding back here” Tori explained to her, rubbing her hand up and down the old woman’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre approached where Tori and Jade were crouching down, asking “Can we move them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, with help, he’s unconscious” Tori gestured towards the old man that was laying against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just let me stay with him” the old woman spoke, voice scratchy and deep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori and Andre exchanged glances, as if asking each other what they should do. Jade looked the old woman up and down as she kept her flashlight pointed to the ground. She gave the old woman a small smile before looking at Tori.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t find Beck, have you seen him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He might be down below?” Tori offered, giving Jade a hopeful shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade stood up and looked around, trying to find a way to get to the bank’s basement. She glanced all around the bank before noticing a set of stairs, leaving Tori and Andre with the old couple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to get you out of here” Tori told the old woman with certainty. She looked at Andre who was watching Jade walk away. She nudged him and pointed her head to where Jade was going, signalling him to follow her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre gave her a determined nod, standing up to follow Jade. Tori focused her attention back on the old couple in front of her, the old woman continuing to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s my love of 66 years, he’s my story, let me stay here with him” the old woman begged her, closing her eyes, breathing becoming shorter. Tori gave her a sympathetic nod, knowing it would be right to respect the old woman’s request. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie was speaking into his phone, covering his ears with his hands so he could listen to his girlfriend Gabriella’s voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s bad. Just don’t make your way into the city. Stay safe, I’ll see you later” he told her before hanging up, Trina running towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you try to keep the media busy” He told her, shoving his phone into his pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that all?” Trina asked expectantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah for now” Robbie sighed, knowing there wasn’t a lot he could do, all of his agents spread out around the crime scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Trina asked, noticing his stress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you?” he asked back, knowing he had to be the leader at a time like this, not show his concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, just do me a favor, have your ear looked at” Trina pointed at Robbie’s ear that was bleeding before running towards a line of news trucks and reporters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Andre made their way through the bank’s basement, connecting their flashlights to their guns so they could point both at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything around them was in shambles, dust and smoke making it so they could barely see in front of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade walked in front of Andre, going at a faster pace. She scanned everywhere around them, her mind moving a mile a minute. Andre followed her movements, focusing on keeping both of them calm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They came across one long, dark hallway and started to move down it, flashlights pointed ahead of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one is parallel to some metro tunnel, there’s a good chance it branches off” Jade told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright then, so we’ll split up” Andre suggested, keeping his eyes  concentrated in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unless it’s a trick” Jade countered back, moving her head to the side as she kept a neutral expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then we’re screwed” Andre told her. Under normal circumstances, both of them would have found the position they were in funny</span>
  <em>
    <span>. But nothing about this was funny</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they still hadn’t found Beck. They didn’t even know if he was alive, and they didn’t know the rest of their team members' conditions either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this the work of a terrorist cell?” One news reporter asked Trina, lowering a microphone down towards her mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We do not believe they are a part of any terrorist cell” Trina answered honestly, doing her best at keeping a calm composure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These bank heists point to them being independent anarchists, who have homicidal tendencies” she kept explaining to the near fifty reporters standing in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you consider them serial killers?” another reporter called out to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, without a doubt, these suspects are serial killers” Trina replied with no hesitation. She looked over to where Robbie and Sikowitz were standing with some agents and detectives a few feet away from her. She could slightly hear what they were saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As Agent Shapiro told you, they want you to admire them” Sikowitz explained “leaving the cameras on was their way of bragging about all the fear they’ve created.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to know what happened, specifically the killer's behaviors right before the bomb went off. You’ll be interviewing and questioning the survivors, they’re in various stages of shock, but any information you get will be useful” Robbie told them, sending all of the detective's stern looks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have compiled a list of questions for you to ask the survivors”  Cat explained to the detectives, coming closer to where Robbie and Sikowitz were standing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve sent all of those questions to your phones” Sinjin trailed behind Cat. The detectives walked away, all of them turning to face Robbie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can Burf and I do?” Sinjin asked Robbie as the detectives left them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go analyze every part of the security footage” He sent Sinjin and Burf away with the shoo of his hand. He moved so he was facing Cat and took the bank’s blueprint out of her hands, making his way towards a nearby car, Cat following. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laid down the blueprint and began to talk, “Jade and Andre radioed in and said the blast created a hole between the bank’s basement and metro tunnels.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, most older banks are made from granite and limestone” Cat rambled “the explosive the female robber used would have to be strong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So she used a strong explosive to open her escape route?” Robbie asked, Cat nodding back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These tunnels let out at multiple points, she could still be underground” Cat offered, shrugging. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, this is what she likes to do. She’s a sadist, she likes to watch it all happen. She probably waited until the last moment to exit, she wants to witness all the chaos” Robbie looked at Cat, then back at the bank’s blueprints, getting more and more confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That means we’ll need to find a tunnel that’s closest to the bank’s exit” Cat furrowed her eyebrows, trying to keep up with Robbie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it’s two blocks away, just outside the perimeter” Robbie pointed down at the map in front of them that was sitting next to the blueprints. He then brought his finger up and pointed above the car, signalling that the closest tunnel was down the road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre and Jade managed to shove open a door at the end of the basement, coming into a brick alleyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both squinted their eyes, coming into view of the bright sun again. They scanned the alley around them, something catching Jade’s eye. She squatted down to the ground, shoving her gun into her belt.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you got?” Andre asked as she picked up whatever she had been looking at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck always says that if you can, you leave a breadcrumb” Jade showed him Beck’s wallet that she had found on the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so that means he was here, and aware enough to leave us a clue” Andre spoke with encouragement, pointing at the wallet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They shot him Andre! Why would they take him?” Jade’s anger rose, not understanding why the robbers would’ve taken Beck with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade, I don’t know” Andre told her sternly “but we didn’t see any blood down there and he’s not here, both of those things are good signs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade fidgeted, scanning over Beck’s wallet she was holding. “Yeah but they have him, and god only knows where. How’s that good?” she asked, trying to keep her voice tranquil. She shoved the wallet into her pocket and ran out of the alleyway, Andre trailing behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck could barely keep his eyes open. Chris and the female robber had shoved him into a car just before the bomb had gone off. They watched the chaos unfold around them before Chris started to drive away. Beck knew the car he had been shoved into was government stolen, that’s why they were able to escape the scene. They were now going down some random road and Beck felt like he was going to pass out in the backseat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as the woman, who sat in the passenger seat, kept replaying a video of Chris shooting Beck on her iPad. Her smile grew as she kept replaying it over and over, Chris speaking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is that? You recorded it?” Chris asked her, moving his eyes between her and the road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman didn’t answer him, sporting an evil grin at the screen as she hit replay again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m talking to you Izzy” Chris shouted at her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Beck thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s her name- Izzy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>His thoughts were interrupted as Chris kept going. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You planned this whole thing, didn’t tell me any of it. You set us up, you killed my brother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that would be him” Izzy gestured with a nod of her head to Beck in the back seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris glared at Beck through the rear view mirror, continuing to talk. “How do I know he isn’t your partner?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy looked up from the iPad, smirking at Beck, “why would I work with this guy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would you do any of this?” Chris shot back, knuckles tightening around the steering wheel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence overtook the car as no one talked for a few seconds. The only sound was Beck’s uneven breathing, his chest continuing to bleed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The FBI said you got somebody else” Chris told Izzy in a questioning tone, wondering if it was true or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sound jealous” Izzy said with a coy smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris pulled the gun out of his lap and pointed it at her “who is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put that away” Izzy’s voice was condemning “this isn’t about revenge, this is about survival. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m your only way out of this mess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris pulled his gun away from her face slightly “all right, let me kill him so we can get on with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “We need him” Izzy looked back at Beck, making sure her gun was pointed at an angle between both him and Chris. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leverage” she told him “we need to patch him up” she looked at his bleeding wounds and smiled sarcastically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck felt his body start to go numb while Chris resumed speaking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Are you just going to go walk into an ER?” he asked her, a siren going off loudly near them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori had exited out of the bank and made her way to where Cat, Sinjin and Burf were standing. Cat crushed her in a hug when she realized Tori wasn’t hurt from the bomb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade and Andre said the robbers were in an alley northwest of the perimeter, that’s where they found Beck's wallet” Cat told them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah this footage of the streets confirms it” Sinjin spoke, pulling up security footage on the monitor's screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina and Robbie approached where they were all standing, looking down at Sinjin’s monitor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay I can see two figures in the car” Sinjin zoomed in on the video, seeing Chris and the female robber in the vehicle's front seats. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please tell me one of them is Beck” Cat pleaded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See how the woman is turned? It’s like she’s keeping an eye on someone in the back” Robbie spoke, crossing his arms in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does that mean Beck’s in the car?” Tori asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think there’s somebody back there’ Robbie said with firmness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the license plate?” Trina asked, sitting up on one of the tables. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin zoomed in on the car’s license plate and they all gasped. “That’s weird, they’re government tags” he told them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Federal or district tags?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Federal” Sinjin sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well they’re either stolen or forged” Burf told them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who the hell are these people” Tori wondered, getting annoyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sikowitz came up to the group, “they’ve set up roadblocks all round the district.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, so we’re looking for a black SUV with it’s sirens on, that’s going to stand out” Burf pointed at the screen before resting his hands on his hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre and Jade came up to the group, Cat gasping slightly, none of them knowing how to comfort Jade right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck is with them, I found his wallet” she showed the wallet to them all, Cat and Tori gulping at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It benefits them to keep Beck alive” Robbie made eye contact with Jade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade moved the wallet in her hands, fidgeting with it to comfort herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They must have a safe house set up” Andre placed his hand on her shoulder while he talked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoever their fourth partner is, that’s where they’re heading now” Tori sat on the table next to Cat, crossing one leg over the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But where? What’s their end game?” Jade asked, throwing her hands in the air with frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no logical reason, they want to create panic” Trina looked at Jade with a rigid frown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The woman robber has struck all over the world, which means she might not be American” Cat told them. As Cat spoke, Tori handed Jade a tissue. Jade wiped away dirt and dried tears from her face, feeling her scratches burn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her ideology speaks to Washington, whatever point she and her partner are making, it’s important that the setting is D.C” Cat explained, playing with her fingers and looking down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The brothers Chris and Ben were from Philly, so the other partner might be from there as well” Tori moved her hair away from her face while talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Homelands sending over a list of possibilities for who the woman and her partner might be” Sikowitz said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not on anyone’s list” Robbie spoke quickly, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then how do we find them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We look at all eight robberies they’ve done and find the common denominators, we’ll go from there” Robbie looked at Sikowitz.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So she’s our only answer?” Sikowitz motioned at Sinjin’s monitor that had the image of the woman in the car on the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For now….. she is” Robbie sighed, exhaustion becoming present in his composure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll call Lane at Interpol again, now that there’s been an explosion, he might have some ideas” Tori suggested, getting up off the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She moved away from the tent and Jade took her spot next to Cat. Cat gave Jade a small smile and squeezed her shoulder, but Jade was unresponsive, keeping her eyes on the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am so sorry about what happened, is your team alright?” Lane asked Tori through the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori tried to bring the phone closer to her ear, blocking out the noise around her “No, one of our own was taken hostage during the escape.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “The robbers made it out of that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, in a stolen government vehicle” Tori sighed, bringing her hand up to her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah well, we’ve seen that before” Lane tried to motivate her “remember when we worked in Scotland in 2012 and a car was stolen from the impound?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the security footage verified it was a woman, even though she was never caught” Tori tried not to get her hopes up, but she felt like she was getting somewhere. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They found the car, she left behind some fake IDs and weapons, that’s where she got her nickname Lady X.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, everybody figured with the weapons and her ability to evade, she was probably trained. We all thought she was an assassin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right” Lane told her “two days later an ambassador was shot in the gut. The question is what type of assassin doesn’t go for the kill shot?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one” Tori bit her lip, “she’s sadistic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then, it fits your profile” Lane spoke, Tori could hear him take a sip of his coffee through the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah it has to be her, she kills at every heist. The money stolen from each bank was just a way for her to fund today’s explosion” Tori almost started to smile, she felt like she had finally cracked the code.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, even if she wears wigs, she doesn’t mind showing her face. She knows that we won’t be able to find it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we’ve only got one other thing to go on....what she left behind” Tori sighed in anger. Just as quickly as her excitement came, it had left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Chad? Have you made any connection there?” She asked him, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No sorry, not anything yet” Lane told her, sounding upset. Tori just sighed again, closing her eyes and hanging up the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked back over to the group just as Andre was hanging up the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the lab, they identified the bomb as being made from a cell phone. There were red, blue and yellow wires in it” Andre informed them, closing his phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How old is the phone?” Tori asked, blinking rapidly as she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“10 years” Tori’s eyebrows raised in shock at Andre’s answer. “Well that’s specific and rare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Has anyone seen that type of bomb before?” Trina inquired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was last seen in a number of bombings in Chad” Andre emphasized the word Chad, all of them remembering how the robbers said it was where they wanted to go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, for a bomb that specific, they must’ve been there to learn how to make it” all of them were quiet as Tori and Andre kept the conversation going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did Lane have any insight?” Robbie turned his glance away from a deadly silent Jade to Tori.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just that a woman they called Lady X stole a government vehicle from Scotland a few years ago. The investigation concluded that she was a trained assassin, she disappeared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Lady X and the woman robber from today are the same person?” Trina asked her, tilting her head to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like it.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sinjin, looking at assassination attempts around the area of Chad” Robbie ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If she was a hired shooter, she was likely taking orders from someone” Cat said while continuing to wipe away dirt from Jade’s neck with a tissue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe she’s still working for the same person now and he’s pulling the strings” Jade spoke up, tearing her eyes away from the ground in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or maybe she’s found her equal” Andre shrugged, rocking back and forth on his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well their obsession with killing and dominating is obvious from what we’ve seen today” Trina rolled her eyes to the side, just wanting this all to end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think this is over” Andre groaned, tilting his head back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Far from it” Robbie agreed. “Now that they’ve gotten away with this, where are they going to strike next?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck’s head was leaning on the window as they zoomed down the roads and towards a stopped ambulance. He was slipping in and out of consciousness and he knew it. All of his thoughts were about Jade. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What had happened to her? Had she been around when the blast hit? Was she okay?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The car came to a screeching halt and Izzy slammed open the car door, she made her way out and walked towards the ambulance doors. Chris opened up Beck’s door and yanked him out, making him walk with a gun held to his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morning” Izzy spoke to a doctor standing at the ambulance, she pulled Beck away from Chris and made him stand next to her “We need help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris moved around to the other side of the ambulance and stood behind the doctor, “whoa, is that a gunshot?” the doctor asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy nodded as the doctor kept talking “He needs fluids, there’s a hospital three blocks away from here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy drew out the gun and pointed it at the doctor, keeping a tight grip on Beck’s arm. “There’s no time,” she said to the doctor, him raising his hands in the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fix him” Izzy demanded and the doctor gasped. Beck kept his gaze on the ground as Izzy let go of him and shoved him towards the doctor. The doctor immediately setting him down and beginning to bandage his wounds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck’s definitely with them” Jade came around from the side of the ambulance “it looks like he can move without a problem” she told Trina.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The cameras caught everything?” Trina asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the woman killed the doctor after he fixed up Beck” Jade sighed, glancing at the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey” Trina nudged Jade’s shoulder, giving her a small smile “at least Beck’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah for now”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did they leave in the same vehicle?’ Trina pondered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but it’s been an hour since the explosion. Why haven't they left the city?” Jade raised her eyebrows at Trina, who shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The next attack could be here”  Trina suggested, giving Jade a frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burf, what have you got?” Robbie asked, looking at both Burf and Sinjin sitting at the monitors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just going through video footage up until Beck gets shot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They did that on purpose right?” Sinjin rubbed his eyes “I mean, we saw everything up until they had Beck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well they made a mistake” Robbie nodded,  “leaving the cameras on gave us a lot more information than they realized. What time did the 911 text come in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“9:23 sir” Sinjin told him, bringing up the text files. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bank opened at 9, I need you both to go back to the beginning of the security footage” Robbie told them, leaning down so he was at the same height as them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said your partner would call by now” Chris yelled at Izzy, just as her phone rang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy picked up the phone with a swift “hey” she listened for a few seconds before saying “got it” and hanging up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was fast” Chris glanced at her as she set the phone down and picked the gun back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s been a change in location, get back on Smith Avenue” Izzy told him, twirling the gun around her finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck watched the encounter unfold from his spot in the backseat, after the medic had fixed him up, the bleeding had decreased. He no longer felt like he was going to pass out and could move with energy. He begged Izzy and Chris not to shoot the doctor who fixed him, but they didn't listen, telling him to shut up or he’d be shot too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris made a fast turn into an abandoned alley, then coming to a stop. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me the plan” he slammed his hands down on the wheel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck almost jumped out of his seat as Izzy shot Chris. Beck counted four shots to the chest, covering his ears as Izzy kept shooting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chris’ head rolled back and rested against the window, Izzy turning and pointing the gun at a gasping Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Beck questioned, trying to catch his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He talks too much” Izzy gave a devilish grin at a whimpering Chris. “Go ahead agent, get him out” she demanded at Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And do what? Just leave him here?” Beck questioned, not moving out of the car just yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes please” She blinked at Chris, who was still groaning in pain, and bit her lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck opened the car door with one hand, not taking his stare away from Izzy. She kept her gun pointed at him as he opened up Chris’ door.  He grabbed Chris and pulled him out of the seat, setting him on the ground with a grunt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked back up at Izzy, her wiping the blood off of Chris’ seat. “Sorry for the mess” she spoke, and he knew that was his que to get into the driver's seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat down where Chris had just been, breathing heavily. “Go ahead, drive” Izzy encouraged while Beck pulled the car door closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck looked out the car window to see Chris spitting up blood before driving away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The explosion was a distraction so they could escape, watch” Robbie told them all. He had all of them regroup at Sinjin’s monitor, all except Jade and Trina, who had gone to where Beck was last seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here’s where they started shooting hostages” Burf sped up the video footage, all of them leaning in to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The guy that stood next to Chris didn’t even flinch, he never even broke a sweat” Burf explained as they watched the man stand at gunpoint, not phased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We know he’s ex military, his name is Matthew Downs. That’s what he told Trina when she interviewed suspects and he wasn’t lying” Sinjin explained, bringing the guys' picture up on screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our databases show he was discharged from the Navy in 2012” Burf told them, bringing up Matthew’s files so everyone could see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck had come to a stop at where Izzy had told him to, both of them waiting for her partner to enter the car. Beck was shocked as the ex marine hostage from before entered the backseat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Beck '' the marine patted him on the shoulder, Izzy moving her tongue across her teeth with a grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drive” Izzy told him. Beck still trying to connect the dots on why the ex marine was here. He figured he wasn’t actually a hostage, instead was Izzy’s partner disguised as a hostage. After coming to that realization, he focused on what Izzy had told him to do. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Drive….Drive where?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know the way” Izzy smirked at Beck, keeping the gun at his head, Beck realized where she wanted him to go. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck this couldn’t be happening</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>--------</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do me a favor” Tori put her hand on Burf’s shoulder. “Keep going to where Beck walks in” Burf moved the footage at a fast pace. Tori tapped him to stop “okay now watch him” she pointed at Matthew on the screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now look at her” Tori pointed at the woman robber on the screen and Burf pulled them up at the same time. Cat’s eyes widened as she looked at where Tori was pointing “her partner was in there the whole time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just not in the way that we thought” Tori kept going “they shot all of this like a home movie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could’ve been killed” Andre’s mouth gaped open as they all came to the realization. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she wouldn’t let that happen” Robbie shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are they doing?” Burf asked, exchanging confused glances with Sinjin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all a part of their plan, they’ve created scenarios that are almost impossible to survive. When they make it, it’s the ultimate high” Tori explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like they’re adrenaline junkies” Burf bit the inside of his cheek while thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody can find Matthew Downs” Sikwoitz told them, “a medic said he helped him, then he disappeared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck had come to a stop. Looking out the car window at where they had arrived. Matthew and Izzy talking next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you later?” Izzy questioned Matthew, him leaning up from the back seat so he was face to face with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better” He told her before they started intensely making out. Beck would’ve been disgusted if he wasn’t so focused on watching the sight outside the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on agent” Izzy nudged Beck with the gun, drawing his attention away from the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s a detective silly” Matthew corrected her with sarcasm, Beck finding none of it funny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oops” Izzy corrected before exiting the car, Beck turning his attention back to the window. They had made Beck drive to his house. His and Jade’s house. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Their house. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What made it ten times worse was that Henry and the babysitter were outside the house playing soccer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Guilt ran through Beck’s body as he left the car, Izzy meeting him from around the side. Beck couldn't believe this was happening, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he was putting their son in direct danger. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>You better play nice, just like we talked about” Izzy spoke closely to him, Beck pulling open the gate in front of their house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daddy!” Henry called out, running away from the soccer ball he was kicking towards Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey dude” Beck tried to keep a calm composure as he picked up Henry. Trying to not let Henry or their babysitter know that everything was bad, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really bad. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you?” Beck asked their babysitter “thanks for taking care of the little man on such short notice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The babysitter nodded and Beck turned his attention back to Henry “here, let me set you down while I talk to Miss Katie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t been watching the news?” He asked Katie, her giving him a slight frown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard about what happened, but no. I didn’t want the kids to see it”  Kate told him, gesturing down to Henry and another little girl she was babysitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you guys working the case?” she asked and Izzy gave her a fake smile, nodding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah in shifts” Beck nodded with a tight smile, shoving his hands in his pockets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay well, if you need me to watch Henry again, it’s no problem” Katie gave him a warm smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Izzy, Beck’s cousin” Izzy shook Katie’s hand, coming up with the fake reason on why she was with Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She just flew in” Beck explained, stuttering his words, “she’s going to take care of Henry, it’s all good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well if you need anything, let me know, I’ll just be next door” Katie offered to Izzy, smiling at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing” Izzy replied before Beck picked up Henry and they made their way inside the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck set Henry down when they got inside, letting him run towards the kitchen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really do little kids” Izzy looked disgusted as Henry ran away, Beck turning to her with a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You touch my kid and I swear to god, I’ll kill you” Beck warned her, his tone suddenly going dark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already told you, if you try anything against me, Matthew will kill her then you” Izzy met his dark tone with a glare of her own, using the threat of killing him and Jade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you really want to do that to your kid? Be the reason he’s an orphan?” Izzy gawked at him, twisting her mouth into a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daddy, let’s play” Henry ran up to where Beck and Izzy were standing, Beck immediately leaning down to grab him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t play right now, I have to go to work” Beck gave Henry a sad smile, feeling like he was going to cry. “But this is Izzy, can you say hi to Izzy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Izzy” Henry whispered, whipping his nose on his stuffed animal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s going to stay with you until mama comes home, okay?” Beck asked him, Henry nodding in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you” Beck told him, bringing Henry's forehead so it was resting against his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you” Henry responded back, tapping Beck with his stuffed animal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to be okay” Beck mumbled against Henry’s hair, more so encouraging himself rather than Henry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s gonna be okay” Henry responded, Beck holding him as tight as he ever had, not wanting to let him go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy rolled her eyes as Beck set Henry down onto the ground, nudging him to go play with his toys. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck watched Henry for a few seconds, not knowing how he could do this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How was he supposed to just leave his kid here with this chick?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He stood up and watched Henry grab his toys before turning back to Izzy. He sent her one final glare before making his way out of the house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made his way down their front yard and out of their front gate, approaching the car he had just been in. He pulled open the car door and saw Matthew sitting in the passenger seat with a gun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?” Beck asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly. His mind still being focused on Henry back in the house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s simple,” Matthew said, “You do everything I tell you, or Izzy kills your boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no way out” Matthew kept going “now, come on, we’re late.” Beck gave one last glance out the window before starting the car up and pulling away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course Beck thought that Matthew was a hostage, why wouldn’t he?” Tori spoke into the phone. The group had called Trina and Jade, who were driving back from the last crime scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade kept fiddling with Beck’s wallet as Tori talked, looking at the pictures he kept in it. “There’s a good chance Beck tried to help him out. He told him when to go for the doors or offered to be a hostage to save the others” Tori explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure he did” Trina said, taking her eyes away from the road to look at Jade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well there’s a flip side to this” Andre spoke, voice deep with worry, “this guy could’ve gotten into Beck’s head, asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell his family in case he didn’t make it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think Beck told him about Jade and Henry” Trina started to get panicked, watching as Jade moved the wallet in her hands at a faster pace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably unknowingly” Robbie spoke just as Jade gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Trina asked Jade with panic, eyes flickering down to the wallet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beck’s license is gone” Jade breathed out, twisting her tongue in her mouth to stop herself from biting her lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade’s eyes began to tear up as she showed Trina the wallet </span>
  <em>
    <span>“they know where we live.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina was driving the fastest she ever had. Speeding down the road with her siren blaring, she didn’t know whether to go faster or check on how Jade was doing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade had been silent since they started to drive near their house, she stared out the window with a blank expression, frozen in fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do that” Trina told her sternly, Jade biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from lashing out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jade mumbled, sounding like a sob was going to rise out of her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t go all quiet” Trina shook her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What am I supposed to do” Jade tapped her fingers against the car door, not moving her gaze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yell” Trina suggested, not really knowing how to be of help right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t” Jade mumbled again, not having the energy to raise her voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t blame yourself for this Jade” Trina’s tone got rougher.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna bet?” Jade cracked a sarcastic grin, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She breathed in before continuing “I never should've left Henry today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were doing your job” Trina tried to tell her, knowing Jade was holding herself responsible for all of this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a mom” Jade shot back with a glare, her voice getting stronger and more pissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And a federal agent” Trina glanced at Jade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a mom first!” Jade blinked back more tears, her hold on the side of the door getting stiffer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And a damn good one at that, but you had no possible way of knowing how this day would go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade felt like she couldn’t breath, she looked up at the car roof as she tried to take a deep breath. “We made this deal, Beck and I” she started out slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our deal was that Henry would never be alone, without either of us. I broke that” Jade choked back a sob, biting her lip as she blinked fast </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina felt herself start to tear up at Jade’s reveal, but she knew now she needed to be the strong one, “he’ll forgive you because he is going to be okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don't know that Trina” Jade fired back at her, her voice cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes I do, you guys vowed to be there for each other, in sickness and in health. This is no different” Trina encouraged, forgetting something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not married Trin, remember?” Jade mumbled before her voice got louder </span>
  <em>
    <span>“oh god”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she sobbed</span>
  <em>
    <span> “we’re not married.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina didn’t know what else she could do besides be quiet, she knew Jade needed to let it all out.</span>
</p><p><span>“When I found out I was pregnant with Henry, he asked me to marry him” Jade told her, Trina nodding slowly. “But I said no, I didn’t want to get married just because I was pregnant. I wasn't ready for that. I told him to ask me again sometime later, after time had gone by. </span><em><span>But</span></em> <em><span>what if he never gets the chance to ask me again?”</span></em></p><p>
  <span>“He will Jade. He will. Everything is going to be okay” Trina felt her own anxiety rise, whipping her head back and forth between Jade and the road. She watched as Jade started to hyperventilate, sending herself into a panic attack. Trina moved her mouth nervously, taking one of her hands off the wheel and resting it on Jade’s knee.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Everything’s going to be okay”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she repeated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matthew had given Beck instructions on where to drive,the metro station just near the city. Beck had no idea why that’s where Matthew wanted him to go, but felt he’d find out soon enough anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you doing this?” Beck asked, looking away from the road to meet Matthew’s eyes</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why am I doing this?” Matthew asked back comically, his tone a mixture of humor and anger “you ever been in combat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope” Beck shook his head, knowing where this was going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you think you know what happens to the souls of men?” Matthew kept his sarcastic tone, blinking slowly while looking at Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never said that”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have no idea!” Matthew’s voice began to boom, anger rising up in him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soldiers don’t come back and kill innocent people” Beck glared at Matthew “you were sick before you ever went to fight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve never been” Matthew turned so he was looking out the window “it wasn’t the same after. They just cut you off, you know? Everyone does, your family, the country, everybody. Just goodbye” Matthew made a wave motion with his hand as he explained to Beck. “They used me, it was a betrayal, so what did I do? I found a new home” Matthew kept his snarl as they approached the metro station. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The entire station was surrounded by patrol cars and officers, they were evacuating everyone, thinking another explosion would happen in the big building. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they pulled up, an officer made a motion for them to pull over. “Detective” the officer started out, looking at Beck’s badge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You on lock-down?” Beck asked, pointing at the station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, we’re evacuating the building, official vehicles only” the officer explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just here to do a sweep” Beck came up with the lie quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The officer looked between Beck and Matthew for a few seconds, then deciding he believed the lie. He gave them a quick nod and said “yes sir, go on through” stepping out of the way so they could drive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry was sitting at the kitchen table, scribbling mindlessly after finding some paper and crayons he could use. He looked up and watched as Izzy paced the floor back and forth, watching a video on the iPad in her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He set down his crayon and called out “I’m thirsty.” Izzy looked up from the iPad and set it down on the couch, coming over to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled out a chair across from Henry and sat down, taking the crayon out of his hand. He grinned at her as she moved the crayon in her hands, “you need to draw it” he said, gesturing to his paper in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ring around the Rosie, Pocket full of Posies, Ashes Ashes, We all fall Down” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Izzy sang in a creepy voice, watching as Henry’s eyes followed her hand drawing with the crayon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry looked up at her after she set down the crayon and laughed “you’re silly, can we play hide and seek?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In a minute, come here” Izzy motioned him forward with her finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry got up out of his seat and walked towards Izzy, her picking him up so he was sitting in her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My grandfather’s name was Henry” she spoke coldly, running her fingers through Henry’s hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He had dark brown hair just like you, he was a scary man” Izzy’s eyes widened as she spoke, Henry tensing up in her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Henry whispered, looking up at Izzy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She broke her eye contact with him when she said “let me tell you a story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>----------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat, Andre and Tori had started to go through the bank’s ruins again, stepping over shatters and damaged parts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why didn’t they take all the money?” Cat asked, noticing debris covered dollar bills scattered along the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were a man down and they had to get out in a hurry?” Andre considered, following Cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But for the woman, today was less about the money and more about the experience” Tori came up to them, putting her flashlight away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything they’ve said and done today has been for a reason, but what doesn’t make sense is that she switched where they wanted to go” Andre scratched his neck while looking at Cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, Chris wanted to go to Switzerland, but she said Chad. She also requested a private plane, but no mention of needing a pilot” Tori followed up what Andre had said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, think about it” Cat started, moving her ponytail behind her, “even the dates mean something. In 2012, when she was causing havoc abroad, he was being discharged from the Navy. Then in 2016 they most likely met in Chad, and now this in 2020.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so all of those dates aren’t coincidences? Is it some sort of political statement?” Andre asked </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s more personal than that” Tori disagreed with him “it’s their story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Andre’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All of these details are a part of their story” Tori kept her gaze ahead, biting her fingernails as she thought “we need to go find the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They exited out of the bank, seeing Sinjin, Robbie, Sikowitz and Burf gathered around Sinjin’s monitor again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tori’s got something” Cat bounced a little as she said it, clapping her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is all a part of their story. Their timeline suggests that they were both destructive before they met” Tori explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we’re talking about ex-military turning on their country?” Sikowitz questioned, watching Tori explain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s rare, but that can happen to soldiers no matter what their nationality. And if he met someone like-minded at that time, there’d be no stopping them”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re thinking that they met in Chad around 2016?” Robbie inquired, keeping a tall stance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and at least one of them is a pilot” Cat leaned past Andre so she could look at Robbie, raising her eyebrows at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if Sinjin focuses on that region, specifically weapons going in and out of Chad, there’s a good chance we’ll find their paths crossing” Tori nodded at Sinjin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I've got multiple entries into Chad for a private pilot named Matthew Downs in 2014, but I don’t have her name” Sinjin typed against his keyboard fast, bringing up the information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well she had aliases, it’s the only way to stay a ghost” Tori fidgeted with the rings on her fingers. “Here’s the thing, they are a couple. Regardless of what we believe of them, they will celebrate themselves and their connection. Is there anything that happened on this date in Chad?” she asked Sinjin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you are good Tori Vega” Sinjin spoke, eyes widening at the computer screen “but this news is not. Yes, there were multiple explosions on this day in Chad in 2014” Sinjin brought up the news articles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where were the most casualties?” Robbie asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At a church….No, no wait, a train,” Sinjin brought up the pictures of the destroyed train.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are there still trains arriving at Union Station outside the city?” Robbie asked Sikwoitz</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes but only authorities are allowed in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why they needed Beck, to be able to get into the station” Tori looked at them all in fear, Cat’s hands moving to cover her mouth in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina and Jade made it outside of Jade’s house. They stayed situated in the car, trying to call Katie, who was next door playing with another little girl she babysits. All Jade wanted to do was run out of the car and into her house, grab Henry and hold him tight, but Trina knew to be rational.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katie doesn’t have her cellphone on” Jade sighed as they both watched the babysitter not answer her phone call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katie would never take her eyes off of Henry, they must have him” Jade unbuckled her seat belt, anxiously trying to unlock the car door and get out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, we need a distraction” Trina grabbed her elbow before she could leave the car, stopping her from being unnecessarily dangerous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade nodded at what she said, looking at her then back to the house “okay, what’s the plan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go over to Katie and explain that we need help. I’ll convince her to play along like I’m the little girl’s mom who’s there to pick her up. Izzy will hear the noise and watch the encounter from the window, that’s when you get into the house and find Henry” Trina told her, explaining the plan seriously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck was still limping when him and Matthew walked through the bank. They passed people rushing out as an emergency alert came through on the loudspeaker, issuing everyone, except agents, to leave. They got to an area that was free of people and Beck kept his eyes focused to the ground. Matthew came up behind him and pushed him with the gun, ushering him forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They approached a bathroom on the second floor, Matthew kicking the door open before shoving Beck inside. Matthew threw his duffel bag on the ground and reached down next to it, keeping his gun angled at Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Beck figured this might be his </span>
  <em>
    <span>only chance.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He blinked slowly before stepping forward, grabbing Matthew’s arm that was holding the gun. He tried to hold onto it and knock the gun out of reach, but Matthew kneed him in the gut. He grabbed Beck by the neck, readjusting the gun in his grip. He slammed Beck against the bathroom wall and put the gun against his forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you cared more about your family Beck?” Matthew snickered at him. Beck tried to catch his breath from the encounter, knowing he just lost his chance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie, Tori and Andre drove up outside the metro station, all of them hurrying out of the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s going to want to stay close to watch” Robbie told them as they ran, showing one of the guards his badge so they could get inside the station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached the main entrance, pushing some people, who were exiting the station, out of the way so they could get inside. Several guards and agents were giving people directions on where to go, telling them to be cautious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre, Robbie and Tori all stopped, looking around the wide lobby. Robbie pointed to a set of stairs, signalling Tori to go there. Him and Andre went the opposite direction, trying to find stairs leading below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori ran to the stairwell going up, she saw how it had a sign saying “</span>
  <em>
    <span>mezzanine closed for renovation”, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she pushed past it and sprinted as fast as she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie watched the crowds of people leave the building, the loudspeaker announcing where to go in different languages. He saw Andre ten feet away from him, looking at the signs on walls and passing a small cafe located in the center of the lobby. Andre watched an officer show people out of the building and that’s when he saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Matthew noticed him to, straightening up in panic as he tried to leave with the crowd. His eyes widened as he saw Andre, trying to make a run for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shapiro, I got the suspect going out of the East wing” Andre radioed into Robbie before following where Matthew had gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Copy” Robbie called back, following where Andre ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori was above them, walking around the second floor with her gun pointed in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she turned the corner and passed a large shelf with construction supplies on it, she spotted him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck was leaning against a pole, his back facing her. His hands were tied behind him, wrapped in rope along with his waist, tape covering his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I found Beck!” she called into her radio, coming around the pole so she could see him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he mobile?” Robbie called back as she bent down so she was at eye level with Beck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s got six transmitters on him, two bombs. This whole place is gonna blow” she shouted into her radio, ripping the tape off of Beck’s mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right where are you? I’m on my way” Robbie detoured from his route, no longer following Andre chasing Matthew out of the building. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, don’t do that, you have to get everyone out. Is the bomb squad here yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re 3 minutes away” Robbie told her, Tori sighing as she read the time on one of Beck’s bombs- </span>
  <em>
    <span>2 minutes and 45 seconds, of course.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Copy” Tori groaned, closing her eyes in distress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tori, you gotta get Henry, they’re at the house” Beck breathed out, his throat feeling tight, knowing this could be his last three minutes alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry was playing at the table with his toy trucks, Izzy bringing him some orange juice. A noise came from outside the house, Izzy walking over to the window to check it out. She watched as some lady picked up her kid from the babysitters next door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade took this as her chance, she climbed in through the house’s back window and saw Henry at the table. She let out a small breath of relief, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he was okay. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She whispered out “Henry”, catching his attention, making sure it wasn’t loud enough for Izzy to hear. She motioned for him to follow her, him listening and leaving the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked down the hallway and came closer to Jade, just as Izzy turned around. She saw Henry not seated at the table, remembering how he wanted to play hide and seek earlier. She rolled her eyes and looked at a closet near the kitchen. She opened up the closet doors and looked inside, Jade approaching her from outside the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy closed the closet doors, coming face to face with Jade’s gun pointed at her. “Turn around” Jade spoke harshly, clicking the gun in her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy turned and put her hands up, right as Henry called out “Mommy!” He was a few feet away from them, Jade being able to put him in a different room before Izzy left the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry calling for her took Jade’s attention away from Izzy. She smacked the gun out of Jade’s hands with her elbow, trying to get Jade to fall to the ground. Jade regained her strength and grabbed Izzy’s arm, shoving her against the wall, slamming her head back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy did the same to her and pushed back, Jade being shoved against the wall now. Jade reached down and grabbed a vase off of the dresser near them, smashing it against Izzy’s head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy fell down onto the floor before quickly jumping back up, running to the kitchen. She made an attempt to grab the gun out of her purse on the table, but Jade was quick enough. Izzy fidgeted with the gun and dropped it to the ground, Jade coming behind her and wrapping the purse around Izzy’s throat. She picked Izzy up with the purse around her and slammed her against a painting on the wall. She held the purse strap tightly against Izzy’s throat and continued to slam her, Izzy having enough strength to jab Jade in the stomach with her elbow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade let go of the purse’s strap and threw Izzy down, getting on top of her and pinning her to the ground. Izzy tried to lean up but Jade punched her in the jaw before she could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After punching her, Jade looked up and saw Henry standing at the end of the hall, watching everything go down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Henry!” She screamed out in fear, trying to signal him to go into the hallway’s closet. She was distracted looking at Henry, giving Izzy a moment to clock her in the face with her elbow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izzy’s elbow hit Jade in the nose, causing Jade to fall backwards. Izzy started to crawl towards the gun sitting in the middle of the hallway. She grabbed it and pointed it at Jade, who was on her knees moving towards her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade grabbed Izzy’s wrist that had the gun stretched out. She used her other hand to grab the top of the gun, shoving the chamber backwards so the bullets would drop out. The motion of the gun’s chamber being let loose caused Izzy to fall backwards. As she was falling, she kicked Jade in the gut, causing her to fly back a few feet. Izzy made a run for where Henry was hiding in the closet, getting close enough so she was near the doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade followed at a quick pace behind her, grabbing Izzy’s hair and slamming her away from the closet. Izzy fell down at Jade’s rough shove, she tried to stand up, push herself off the ground. Jade was ready for her to stand though and clenched her fists, round house kicking Izzy in the face when she tried to get up. She ended the kick with her fists in the same position, watching Izzy go flying down to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade looked up and saw Trina come into the hall, her gun pointed at Izzy laying on the ground. Jade moved some hair away from her face as she breathed heavily. Trina sat down and began to handcuff Izzy, Jade turning back to the closet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mommy!” Henry called, standing up out of the closet. Jade immediately pushed the closet door away, leaning down next to Henry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here” she said out of breath, pulling Henry into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her neck, holding onto her ponytail tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade rocked back and forth with Henry in her arms, holding him against her as she ran her fingers through his hair. She felt relief rush through her body, breathing heavily while her hold on Henry got stronger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tears started to pour out of Jade’s eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Henry was safe, he was okay, he wasn’t hurt. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jade chuckled out a small sob, keeping her back turned away from Trina, who was now lifting Izzy off the ground in handcuffs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just get everybody out of here” Beck tried to tell Tori, coming to terms with the fact that it’d be almost impossible to disarm the bombs on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna leave you” Tori shouted at him. “Just give me a minute” she looked down at the ticking bomb and felt pressure, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she had to keep Beck alive. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just about all you got” Beck looked down at the bomb on his chest, watching it tick down from a minute and forty five seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, everything they said and did was about them” Tori tried to think, not letting her mind focus on how nerve wracking the situation was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re narcissists” Beck breathed out, barely being able to think about anything besides the bomb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re romantics” Tori realized “They met in 2012” she typed in the numbers she said out loud, watching as the bomb flashed no. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Two tries left.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what are you doing? Seriously Tori, go, go!” He tried to persuade her, Tori shaking her head in disagreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay hold on….Chad!” Tori shouted “2-4-2-3” she tried. The bomb sent another no signal. </span>
  <em>
    <span>One try left. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori and Beck both groaned, knowing this was their last chance to guess right or they would all blow up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dammit” Tori shouted. “Okay these are valentines for her, so it would be a four letter word, maybe love or soul?” she guessed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izzy...her name is Izzy” Beck looked up from the bomb as he told her, Tori biting her lip at what he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Izzy, the numbers would be 4-9-9-9” Tori spoke as she pressed the buttons down, they waited for what felt like hours. It was really only a few seconds before the bomb’s screen flashed green. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Try successful.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They both breathed out cries of relief before Tori shouted “Oh god!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both looked down at Beck's chest and saw the second bomb counting down, this one had wires instead of numbers. It was counting down from 30 seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre had been chasing Matthew for a couple blocks now, he kept the gun clocked in one of his hands as he ran. He had no idea if Robbie was still trailing behind him, but he didn’t care anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as Matthew turned down an alleyway with a fence at the end of it. Andre knew he was catching up to Matthew, but Matthew figured he had enough time to scale the fence and get away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about halfway up the gate before Andre caught up, yanking him down. Matthew resisted and tried to shove Andre back, pushing him up against the fence. Andre hit him in the forehead with a punch, trying to force him off. He had Matthew held against the dumpster near the fence, Matthew using his elbow to hit Andre in the face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andre fell back against the wall, Matthew following his movements and pressing his arm against Andre’s throat. Andre reached down for his gun strapped to his belt, Matthew stopping him. He kept his hold on Andre’s neck, making Andre’s breathing come short. Andre was sure he was going to pass out when a gunshot rang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matthew’s grip loosened, him falling down after being shot in the back. He collapsed to the ground and Andre looked up. Seeing Robbie standing a few feet away with his gun still pointed out. Andre lifted himself up from the wall, rubbing a hand along his neck. He nodded at Robbie as a way of saying thanks, Robbie keeping his gun pointed at Matthew in case he stood up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robbie checked Matthew’s pulse and declared that he was dead, they called for a medic to be brought over before walking away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Vega, what’s your status?” Robbie called into his radio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Vega, do you copy?” Tori heard Robbie repeat. Her mind was racing, she had fifteen seconds to disarm the bomb on Beck, answering Robbie would take some of that time away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t answer him, turning off her radio and continuing to talk to herself. “The storytelling is in the details, these wires mean something” she mumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Beck asked, turning his neck so he could look at the bomb’s wires. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The colors of Chad’s flag are red, yellow, and blue. Only one of these is different from the U.S flag...Yellow!” Tori exclaimed, pulling out her pliers so she could cut the wire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bomb was at 2 seconds, both of them closing their eyes in fear as Tori cut the wire,</span>
  <em>
    <span> this could be the end. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything was silent for a few seconds, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no explosion. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tori opened her eyes and saw that the bomb was paused at one second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She did it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank god” Beck let out with a sob, also opening his eyes and seeing what Tori saw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori collapsed onto the ground, the adrenaline from everything soaring through her body. She let out a sigh of relief, smiling slightly and looking at Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you do that?” Beck questioned, out of breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t overthink it” Tori laughed slightly, Beck joining in. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>--------</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They had gotten the call. After Jade made sure Henry was safe, all she could think about was Beck. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was he okay too? Was he safe?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When Tori called Trina and told her that Beck was okay and that a medic was taking him to the hospital, Jade began to sob.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She let out the panic, agony, fear. All of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina strapped Henry into a car seat in the back of the car, Jade getting into the front, still crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they reached the hospital, Jade practically scrambled out of the car, taking Henry out of his car seat and running towards the doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina locked up the car, following behind her, smiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lady at the front desk told them Beck was in room 424 and they booked it to the elevator. Jade picked up Henry and rested him on her hip when the elevator dinged. She walked out fast, turning down the halls to find his room. Trina stayed behind, walking at a slower pace, she knew it wasn’t her place to be antsy around the family. They needed their time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they got to his room, Jade kissed Henry’s forehead, whispering for him to stay with Aunt Trina for a second. Trina came up behind them, Jade setting Henry down next to her before entering Beck’s room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears started to form in Jade’s eyes as she moved into the room. She pushed aside a curtain and met Beck’s eyes. He looked up from the bandages on his arm and saw her teary eyes. He took the brace off of his other arm as she moved closer to him. Drawing her in so she was resting between his legs while he sat on the side of the hospital bench.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brought her into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly while his went around her waist. He breathed out deeply as she clutched onto him, he felt himself start to tear up too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They say I need another X-Ray” Beck told her, laughing a little as she </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow</span>
  </em>
  <span> held him tighter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade thought her tears would stop once she felt Beck in her arms, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she was wrong. </span>
  </em>
  <span>When Beck told her he needed another X-Ray, she felt a sob come up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck chuckled as he let go of the embrace, pulling back so he could see her eyes. “Hey” he started off, Jade wiping her tears away as he talked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, come on, no tears, it’s okay” he moved some of her hair away from her face “Henry’s safe, it’s all going to be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck intertwined his fingers with hers, resting their hands in his lap. Jade set her forehead against his, sniffling every few seconds to stop herself from crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ask me”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she whispered, Beck still pulling strands of hair away from her face.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Ask me</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she repeated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck stared at her in awe, twirling one of her curls around his finger. He blinked slowly, as if taking her all in. He pulled her so she was closer to him, her blinking back tears as they made eye contact. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> “Jade West, will you marry me?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Beck asked, grinning from ear to ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah” Jade whispered, mirroring his grin as she leaned in. Their lips met for a split second before separating, him pulling her into another hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s about damn time” Beck whispered into her ear, feeling her smile against his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade laughed while still crying “there’s a pastor here, let’s just do it now” she whispered to him, pulling away from the hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh hell no, I’m supposed to see you in a gown” Beck told her, moving his hand to her neck, rubbing his thumb against her jaw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay fine, Monday then. Clear your calendar, cause we have a date at the courthouse” Jade replied, leaning in to kiss him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their lips stayed together for a few seconds before separating, both of them turning to look at Henry. He was still standing by the door with Trina, holding her hand. Beck and Jade motioned for him to come forward, he looked up at Trina and she nodded. She let go of his hand and pulled out her phone as he moved into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She overheard the conversation Beck and Jade just had. She knew what she needed to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So...our criminal is Izzy Rogers. She’ll be charged with multiple accounts domestically and out international counterparts will have their turn with her. She will never see the light of day, I just thought you’d like to know that.” Sikowitz entered the meeting room where all of them were gathered, handing Andre the file he was holding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori and Cat smiled at Sikowitz, looking at the papers Andre was holding so they could see Izzy’s file.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When do you think we’ll be able to see Jade, Beck and Henry?” Cat asked, twirling her red hair around her finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trina will let us know, they’re still at the hospital right now” Andre told her, just as Robbie opened the meeting’s room door, phone held to his ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trina wants to know if we’re all free tomorrow night” Robbie told them, keeping the phone close to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well if she’s buying drinks then I’m definitely in” Andre told Robbie, laughing slightly, clapping his hands in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Yeah we’re all good” Tori told him, Robbie moving away from the door frame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You hear that? We’re in” He told Trina before hanging up the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had been discharged from the hospital around midnight. They gave Beck instructions on how to take care of his arm and bullet wounds. They also did check up’s on Jade and Henry, clearing them all to go home for the night. Trina stayed with them the entire time, driving them home after. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So...I say our victory today deserves a little celebration. Everyone’s coming to mine tomorrow to get drunk and dance, you guys in? Trina asked as she pulled up to their house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck turned around from his position in the passenger seat, looking at Jade who was watching Henry asleep on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think?” He asked Jade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds fun, we’re in” Jade told them, unbuckling Henry’s seat belt and picking him up as she moved out of the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck opened up his door and said thanks to Trina, turning to Jade to take Henry out of her hands, both of them moving slowly to prevent him from waking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They opened up their front door leisurely, waving at Trina as she pulled away. They set down their stuff in the kitchen, making their way to Henry’s room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck laid Henry down in his bed, figuring that waking him up to change into pajamas wasn’t necessary. Jade pulled the blanket over him, sitting down on the bed. She moved his hair away from his face with her fingers. Beck admired as she did so, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before sitting down next to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mommy?” A voice spoke up from under the blanket, Henry’s tired eyes meeting theirs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Jade whispered, scooting closer to the three year old.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we safe?” Henry murmured, bringing his blanket closer to his nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course we are, why would you think we aren’t? Jade asked him nervously, glancing worriedly at Beck, who looked just as concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Today when that lady was at our house, you got in a fight with her, is she one of the bad guys?” Henry questioned, grabbing his stuffed bear next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Beck smiled softly at the memory. When Henry was a curious two year old, they told him that their jobs were to fight off bad guys. They of course would explain more when he was old enough to understand, but for now Henry just thought of them as superheroes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>His superheroes. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah that girl was one of the bad guys, but don’t worry, she’s gone now” Beck reassured Henry, marveling at how fast he had caught on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sleepy” Henry rubbed his eyes and yawned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get some sleep, we’ll see you in the morning” Jade whispered, kissing Henry’s forehead as Beck turned off the light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pulled the door closed and moved out of Henry’s room, making their way towards their own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure we should leave him in there?” Jade bit her lip anxiously, glancing over her shoulder at Henry’s room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade” Beck groaned with a laugh,  turning away from their bed so he could grab her hands. “I know that you love him more than anything, and I do too, but worrying this much won’t do us any good. He’s safe. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re safe. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I promise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade gave him an unsure nod, both of them moving to get into comfier clothes before laying down in bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We both could’ve died today, how are you so calm about all of this?” Jade asked him, turning on her side so they were face to face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s always been a part of our jobs Jade, even before we had Henry, we knew our jobs were dangerous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it should never have gotten as dangerous as it did today Beck” Jade told him sternly. “We promised each other when we had Henry that our jobs would never put him in any kind of danger, today we broke that promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything that happened today was out of our control. It’s all over now, we don’t have to worry about it. What matters is that you and Henry are safe” Beck kissed under her ear, putting her mind at ease.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade bit her lip, thinking over what he said. Beck could tell she was still uneasy about the entire situation and tried to encourage her more, “We can figure out ways to keep Henry safer. We’ll make sure any case we do from now on has no way of getting personal. He’ll always be safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay….” Jade trailed off, looking down as she fidgeted with her fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get some sleep” Beck whispered tiredly, pulling her by the waist so she was lying closer to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jade mumbled “If I close my eyes, I’ll just be right back at that bank. Watching you go in. Watching you put yourself in danger. I can’t do that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s stay awake and talk” Beck suggested, rubbing his thumb along her waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What were you thinking going into that bank?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking I want to keep innocent people safe. I want to keep my friends and coworkers safe. And most importantly I want to keep my girlfriend safe” Beck gave her a sheepish look, smiling when she gave him a small grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fiancee” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She corrected him with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>God she was going to be the death of him, </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought to himself before leaning down to kiss her. They both smiled against each other's lips, moving softly. He moved his hand so it was resting below her jaw, her reaching up to grab his cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as they both deepened the kiss, Jade’s phone went off several times from the nightstand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh that’s probably Cat” Jade mumbled against his lips, pulling back so she could grab her phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nooo stay” Beck tried to pull her back down before she could sit up, but was too late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat up next to her, both of them looking down to see multiple incoming texts from Cat. All of the texts were various ways of asking them how they were, how Henry was. Jade rolled her eyes and texted back with a quick response to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go to sleep. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cat replied with a heart and told them she’d be bringing Henry presents tomorrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, I seriously regret making her Henry’s god mom, she spoils him too much” Jade groaned as she set her phone back on the nightstand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon you know Henry loves her, and we love her too” Beck dragged Jade back down onto the bed, trying to continue their moment from before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as they were both leaning in, a scream rang through their house.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mommy!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of them shot out of bed, Jade scrambling to yank the bedroom door open, before sprinting down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck followed after her and pulled open Henry’s door. Their eyes widened as they watched the three year old sit up in bed, hyperventilating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey hey it’s okay, it’s okay” Jade whispered, picking Henry up out of bed, holding him against her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Bad dream” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Henry murmured against Jade’s shoulder, hiding his face in her neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Beck closed their eyes tightly at his revelation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bad dreams didn’t happen for Henry. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They were uncommon for the three year old. Henry showed signs of having a mix of Beck and Jade’s personalities, but was strong willed nonetheless. So whenever he had one of his </span>
  <em>
    <span>rare </span>
  </em>
  <span>nightmares, he wouldn’t call out for them. He would just go back to sleep and tell them about it the next morning over breakfast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They always reveled at how brave Henry already was. But now they both felt like they were paralyzed in fear. Asking themselves the question, </span>
  <em>
    <span>was his nightmare caused by everything that happened today?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna talk about it?” Beck asked Henry, rubbing his back while he kept a tight grip on Jade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was that lady from today, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Izzy, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was hurting mommy again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade’s eyes widened as Henry told them, his hands grabbing the back of her neck tighter. Her and Beck both looked at each other, worrying that everything today caused some sort of trauma in the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izzy is gone, she’s not going to hurt mommy again” Beck spoke with determination. “We promise Henry, Izzy is locked up for good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry moved his face away from Jade’s shoulder, turning a bit so he could look at Beck and Jade at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m still scared to go to sleep” Henry mumbled</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade gave Beck a look, signalling to him that she got this one. He understood what she was saying, kissing Henry on the forehead before moving out of the room. He figured Jade would be upset after she finally got Henry to go to sleep, so he went to the kitchen to make some tea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know…” Jade spoke, readjusting Henry in her arms as she sat down on the bed “I’m pretty scared to go to sleep too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Henry whispered, both of them laying down face to face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because just like you, I have bad dreams too sometimes” Henry threaded his fingers through Jade’s curls as they both mumbled back and forth tiredly with each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, we are safe Henry, nothing bad is going to happen to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay” Henry whispered, Jade knew he was still tense and uneasy so she came up with a solution.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about we both just lie here until you fall asleep” Jade wrapped an arm around Henry’s waist, her other hand moving some hair away from his face. Henry nodded at what she said, grabbing his stuffed bear and bringing it up to his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will I get to see everyone tomorrow?” Henry asked, wanting to distract himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Aunt Trina invited us to her house” Jade gave him a warm smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope Aunt Cat’s there” Henry yawned as he told her, getting a small laugh from Jade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She will be” Jade guaranteed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was silent after that, neither of them talking. Henry yawned every few seconds, closing his eyes. Jade rested her chin against her hand, watching him tiredly. His hand grabbed hers that was resting on his waist. She started to rub soothing circles against it, hoping he’d fall asleep soon enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a few more minutes, but his breathing eventually evened out and he was asleep. Jade continued to stare at him for a few more minutes, not wanting to leave him alone again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck re-entered the room after putting the kettle on the stove. Standing by the door, watching Jade not move from her spot laying next to Henry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade” Beck spoke softly from the door, her looking over her shoulder to gaze at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gestured for her to stand up so they could go to the kitchen. She sighed and looked back at Henry, moving hair away from his face and kissing his forehead. She gave one last longing gaze at Henry’s sleeping form before standing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grabbed Beck’s outstretched hand, letting him drag her out of the room. They walked down the hallway into the kitchen. Passing the broken vase and shattered painting from earlier, neither of them bothering to clean it up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade jumped up on the kitchen’s counter, crossing her legs in front of her while Beck handed her a mug of tea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held the mug with both of her hands, eyes flickering down nervously. She let go of the cup with one hand, messing with the fuzz on her sweatpants. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Babe, what’s wrong?” Beck asked, pouring his own tea before sitting on the counter next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade choked back tears, looking up from her pants to make eye contact with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay, I’m right here” Beck grabbed the mug out of her hands, setting it down next to her so he could interlace his fingers with hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He had a nightmare Beck, he was scared to go to sleep because of everything that happened today”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby, he’s going to be okay, we all are” Beck tried to comfort her, Jade still crying profusely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t get nightmares Beck, this happened because of us. We caused this and now he’s afraid to sleep” Jade’s tone was cold and detached as she let go of his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jade, he knows that we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to keep him safe. He knows that we’ll never let anything hurt him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re his superheroes</span>
  </em>
  <span> remember? He trusts us. You got him to fall asleep just now, didn’t you? He will be okay, I promise. We’ll check up on him as much as you want, but every time we do he’ll be peacefully asleep in his bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck brushed tears away from Jade’s cheek, leaning in to kiss her softly. She nodded at him in response, giving him a slight smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed up for a couple more hours, drinking tea out of their mugs as they both sat on the kitchen counter. Jade would leave every once in a while to check up on Henry, a glum smile tracing her lips as she watched him sleep. They eventually went back to bed around 4am, letting the exhaustion from the entire day take over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-----------</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The next day, they all gathered at Trina’s house, </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Vega mansion,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as she liked to call it. It was around 7 when Jade and Beck arrived with Henry, being the last ones to get there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they came in through the front door, Cat crushed both of them in a hug, wrapping her arms around both of their shoulders. She held them tight and squealed, then reaching down to grab Henry. She picked him up and spun him around a few times before walking away, telling him about how she brought a lot of presents and is going to teach him a new magic trick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Beck laughed as Cat ran into the backyard with Henry. They looked out the kitchen windows, staring in awe at the backyard’s set up. Fairy lights and lanterns had been strung along all the trees surrounding the backyard, a fountain placed in the middle. There were multiple tables set up, covered in white tablecloths and glass silverware, each table having a vase of flowers in the middle. A few feet away from the tables was a white gazebo, blue and white flowers strung along the outside of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow” Jade whispered out, Beck nodding in agreement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey you guys!” Tori and Andre came into the kitchen behind them, Robbie and his girlfriend Gabriella following.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Beck and Jade both responded happily, giving everyone a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Trina?” Jade asked them, not seeing her with the group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s probably outside, bothering the staff she hired, or she’s at the open bar” Tori responded before asking her own question, “where’s Cat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She stole Henry from us the second we got inside, probably is running around with him in the yard” Beck took the drink Andre offered to him, Jade taking one from Tori.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys wanna go see the back?” Robbie asked, arm looped around Gabriella’s waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all nodded at what he said, following his and Gabriella’s lead out of the house. Andre and Tori walked in front of Beck and Jade, laughing loudly at some joke Andre had made, both already a little tipsy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, someone knows how to throw a party” Jade exclaimed as they walked down the steps into the backyard, Trina coming up to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t mess around” She said as Trina dragged her into a hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say? I’m the host with the most!” Trina took a sip of her drink as she let go of the hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah no kidding” Jade told her, looking at all of the extravagant decorations Trina had gotten in less than 24 hours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Look who’s here” Trina spoke with a smirk, a woman approaching them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom?” Jade asked as the woman brought her into a hug. When they pulled back, all of them were giving each other knowing smirks, watching as Jade stood confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay what’s going on?” Jade asked them, Beck wrapping an arm around her waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we couldn’t get married without your mom here” Beck told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I might have overheard a little proposal in the hospital yesterday…” Trina narrowed her eyes at Jade, giving her a beaming smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I couldn’t wait till Monday….” Beck trailed off, Jade looking between him and Trina. Henry ran up to them out of breath, Cat letting him go to his parents. He grabbed Jade’s hand as she continued to talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so this is why you guys are all dressed up?” Jade looked down at Henry, him nodding up at her. “And this is why Aunt Trina got the place all nicely decorated huh?” She asked Henry again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes” Jade’s mom spoke. “And you’ll be all dressed up too, I brought something borrowed” she lifted up the dress in her hands, nudging it towards Jade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that your wedding dress?” Jade asked, bringing a hand to cover her mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes it is, let’s go see how it looks on you” Jade’s mom stepped forward, grabbing Jade’s arm to lead her back into the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Beck and Trina watched as Jade’s mom led her away. Trina picked up Henry, resting him against her hip as she turned to Beck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you nervous?” Trina asked Beck, him coming to stand next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if she doesn’t come back out” Beck told her honestly, shoving his hands into his pockets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina gathered everyone around when Jade texted her she was almost ready, making them all stand on both sides of the gazebo. She had the staff lay out blue flower petals leading up to the gazebo and had lanterns hung up too. She instructed Beck and Henry to stand inside the gazebo with her, while everybody else stood outside of it to watch. She explained to Beck how she was able to officiate their wedding because she took a quick online course on how to be an officiant. She promised him she</span>
  <em>
    <span> was totally ready</span>
  </em>
  <span> and knew how to do it, Beck gave her an unsure glance, but allowed it anyways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade came out of the house in a white, strapless gown. It was fitted tightly to her body, outlining every part of her. The sleeves were lowered down to below her collarbone, being connected in the back by a silk piece of fabric. Her hair was pulled to the back of her head, some strands of it falling out in front of her face. Cat was on one side of her while her mom was on the other, walking her down their makeshift aisle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone parted when she walked, watching as she made her way closer to where Beck and Henry stood. When they approached the gazebo, Cat and her mom let go of her and stood with the others. Cat went next to where Tori was and immediately started to cry, Tori handing her a tissue to get her to stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck was holding Henry against him as Jade walked up the gazebos stairs. When she reached where they were standing, she bent down and took the pillow out Henry’s hands that had the rings on them. As Beck picked up the rings, Henry ran to Andre. Andre picked Henry up and placed him onto his shoulders, making sure he could still see everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck took a deep breath before slipping the ring onto Jade’s finger, leaning his forehead against hers as he did so. She did the same with his ring, both of them looking at Trina when they were done. Trina cleared her throat and started the ceremony, making it short and sweet. At that point, Cat wasn’t the only one crying. Tori had started to cry too, and Cat was positive she saw Robbie and Andre let out a few tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made the process of everything before the vows quick, Jade and Beck both sporting huge grins as Trina talked. When it came time for vows, Jade and Beck moved so they were closer together, whispering their vows to each other. Their voices were so quiet that only Trina could hear what they were saying, but that’s how they liked it. It was a promise meant for just them, no one else needing to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Trina officially announced them husband and wife, they both leaned in fast, lips meeting in the middle. Jade wrapped her arms around Beck’s neck as they kissed, laughing against his mouth slightly. He smiled back and continued to kiss her, never wanting the moment to end. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally separated, they kept their foreheads pressed together, smiling at each other. They looked to the side to see their friends ecstatic expressions. They laughed at Cat and Tori wiping their eyes with tissues and smiled as Andre cheered with Henry. Trina clapped for them and they gave her a warm smile, facing each other again. They mirrored each other's wide grins and kissed quickly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They knew this was forever.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After congratulating the couple, they had all sat down at the tables near the gazebo. Trina announced to everyone that the caterers she had hired were bringing out food, the wedding cake was on it’s way, and the open bar was serving. She sat down next to Tori and breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful everything she had planned was going smoothly. Tori rubbed her shoulder as they watched everybody sit down at the tables. Beck and Jade were whispering softly to each other while a waiter poured champagne in everyone’s glasses. Once everyone’s glasses were full, Trina stood up and tapped her drink with a fork. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody looked up as Trina started out her toast “they say good things happen to good people…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina looked around at everybody. Cat was holding Henry in her lap, both of them wearing toothy grins. Robbie and Gabriella were next to her, holding hands. Andre and Tori were looking up at Trina, getting their glasses ready to say cheers. Sinjin and Burf copied their movements and grabbed their drinks too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade and Beck were the best to look at though. Jade’s head rested against Beck’s shoulder while his hand reached around her, starting to rub his fingers up and down her arm. They gave grateful glances as Trina kept her speech going “Today is one of those days, and these are two of those people.” She pointed her glass out to Jade and Beck in front of her, everyone lifting their glasses and doing the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We love you” Trina finished her toast, everyone turning to do cheers with each other. Trina walked away from her spot at the table, so she was now behind Beck and Jade. She reached down and squeezed their shoulders, squealing happily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat set Henry down next to his parents, kissing Jade on the cheek while giggling. Tori came over to where they were and grabbed Jade’s hand, marveling at the ring on her finger. Andre, Robbie, Sinjin, and Burf all congratulated Beck again. Andre patted him on the back before they took their seats, Trina calling out that dinner was ready. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Conversations began with everyone at the table as servers put food on the plates. Their silverware and glasses clinked as they talked, everybody laughing together as chatter scattered amongst the tables.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When dinner was done and everybody started to move to the dance floor placed in the middle of the backyard, Trina took it as her chance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had hired a camera crew to come in for the wedding, figuring a perfect wedding present was for her to have everybody give a speech to the camera for Beck and Jade. Most of them would probably be drunk and hysterical when they gave their speeches, but Trina could care less. Knowing Beck and Jade would be grateful for the recorded moments, even if everyone was wasted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina fixed her hair and makeup quickly, telling the camera crew to film her speech first. “Hi it’s Trina Vega here” she started out “I’m wishing Jade and Beck the happiest, may your marriage go on a lot longer than my previous three. Hopefully this backyard will bring you a lot more luck than it did me and my ex wives.” Trina winked at the camera after finishing her congratulations, hoping Jade and Beck would find her tipsy speech funny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned away from the camera to look at the dance floor, searching for somebody to give their speech next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Sinjin and Burf are over there, come on, let’s go this way” she pointed to where Sinjin and Burf were standing at the bar, leading the camera crew towards them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sinjin! Burf! Give a speech to the camera for Beck and Jade” she instructed them as they set their drinks down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi!” Sinjin said to the camera, already sounding drunk. “Happy...no, not happy birthday, I’m sorry” Sinjin slurred his words “You’re getting married! So happy wedding! Don’t worry, we’re not drinking” He gestured between him and Burf, clearly wasted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a little bit” Burf told the camera, almost falling over while laughing. “We just want to say congratulations, we’re really happy somebody’s getting married, you’re a beautiful couple” Burf tried to speak without slurring his words, not very successful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina rolled her eyes at the two boys who were almost falling over, telling the camera crew they needed to find somebody a little more sober. She spotted Robbie’s girlfriend Gabriella a few feet away and moved the camera crew towards her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Beck and Jade, It’s Gabriella” she started off “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I’m so glad to be here tonight and I just wanted to tell you happy wedding! I hope you have a beautiful life together and thanks for a great night, what a pretty spot right?” Gabriella gestured to the beautiful backyard behind her before giving one last smile to the camera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina let out a sigh of relief, knowing that would be the best speech of the night. Everybody else was already embarrassingly drunk so their speeches would just be laughable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay let’s move onto Andre” Trina told the crew, dragging Andre away from the dance floor. “Say something nice about Beck and Jade” she directed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, here we are on this wonderful occasion” Andre started out, crossing his arms in front of him. “Now, Jade….beautiful, just absolutely stunning” he complimented Jade, Trina giving him a thumbs up. “And you went for the short guy from Canada” Andre laughed with fake jealousy, beginning to mock the way Beck talked. “And I mean, I get it. He’s cool, he’s cool. But then there’s me, what am I? Chopped liver?” Andre pointed to himself, continuing his drunk bit of being fake jealous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina rolled her eyes at him, finding the bit he was doing funny, but also super stupid. She motioned with her hand for the crew to follow her over to Cat who was standing at the presents table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat took a huge sip of her champagne, letting out a long sigh “Jade West…” she trailed off, thinking of what to say. “And Beck, first things first. I just want to say, I got you all of these presents” she fell back onto the table, laying a hand over the gifts. “I hope you like them” she patted the presents with her hand, bringing her drink up to her mouth again. “I would like to tell you that I’m very happy-” she paused to take another drink “that you just got married, some might say ‘oh I think maybe she’s not happy’ because maybe Cat has something for Jade.” Cat’s eyes were almost closed as she talked, her bubbly personality turning angry from being drunk. “Well, let me tell you something. That’s not true. Jade is my best friend in the entire world and I am VERY happy for her” she shouted the last part while grabbing the camera, leaning in so her face was right at the lens. Trina thought she had finished, but Cat stopped her, talking again, “When all is said and done, facts say that 51% of marriages end in divorce or murder” Trina cringed as Cat said that part, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. “I will always be here for you Beck, hopefully Jade doesn’t murder you….and I hope that…..” Cat trailed off while looking to the side. “What time is it?” She asked the camera crew, not finishing her speech. Trina groaned as Cat collapsed to the ground, resting her back against the presents table while chugging her drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina sighed and gestured for the camera crew to follow her away from a hysterically hyper Cat. “Let’s hope Tori is more sober than that” she muttered under her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tori stepped away from dancing with Andre to do her speech. “For Jade and Beck, I’m so happy to be a part of this” Tori’s words came out stuttering and sloppy, giggling while she talked. “And I love you both….sorry I meant, Detective Oliver and Special Agent….Jade” Tori put on a mocking professional voice, saying their work names in a jokingly stern tone. “I am so glad that you are finally tying the knot...and I think it’s going to make Henry very happy that his parents are married” Tori resumed her normal voice, still slurring her words slightly. “I am just so happy! Cheers!” she pointed her drink up at the camera, gesturing for a toast as she winked. “I’m glad I could be here..</span>
  <em>
    <span>.at the Vega mansion” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she put an emphasis on the Vega mansion part, mocking Trina’s name for her house. “I love you both very much, here’s to the future” she put her drink up against the camera. “Clink” she giggled, winking at the camera again while pretending to do cheers. She brought her wine glass up to her mouth, looking over the camera to ask Trina “do I drink it now?” Trina nodded at her with a roll of her eyes, Tori starting to chug the wine down. She gave one last wink to the camera with a laugh, squealing a little “yay!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trina let out an irritated groan for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, everybody’s speeches sounding ridiculous due to their wasted state. She looked around to see if anyone else could give a speech, noticing Henry sitting at the table, eating cake with Cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed at him, motioning for the camera crew to go over there. She gave Henry quick instructions on what to say to the camera, promising him that if he did it right, he could open presents from Cat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you mommy and daddy” Henry told the camera, looking at Trina to make sure he did it right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go like this” Trina told him, showing him how to blow a kiss. He nodded at what she said, still looking at her as he blew a kiss. Trina wished he looked at the camera while he did it, but what did she expect? He was only three.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good job!” She told Henry, giving him a high five before letting him eat cake with Cat again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yay presents time!” Cat squealed, taking the fork out of Henry’s hand, replacing it with one of the many gifts she brought him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After many conversations and laughs together, everyone had somehow gravitated towards the dance floor. The professional band Trina hired started to play slow songs, everybody moving to find someone to dance with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dance with me” Beck grabbed Jade’s hand, lifting her up from sitting at the table. She let him pull her to the dance floor, laughing as he tugged her hand. She glanced at Henry sitting with her mom real quick before wrapping her arms around Beck’s neck, his going around her waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They swayed back and forth together, watching as everybody else went around them in different pairings. Robbie and Gabriella were a few feet away from them, hugging each other close as they danced. Tori and Cat were spinning each other back and forth jokingly, Jade laughing at them. Andre, Burf and Sinjin were watching from the bar as everybody danced slowly. Trina forced Andre to dance with her, telling him dancing was mandatory at a wedding. Andre groaned as she dragged him to the floor, but allowed it nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sinjin and Burf stood up from the bar too, going over to where Tori and Cat were, all of them laughing as they danced together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While all of this was happening, Beck and Jade were in their own little world. They held each other close, as they rocked back and forth, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Jade’s arm stayed wrapped around his neck tightly, letting him kiss underneath her ear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cat awed at the couple a few feet away from her, picking up her phone and taking pictures of them. Tori shushed her not to distract the couple, not wanting to ruin their moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beck and Jade heard Cat squeals and Tori’s hushes, looking across the dance floor to laugh at them before resuming their slow dance. They rested their foreheads together, slowly moving back and forth to the song’s rhythm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look beautiful” Beck whispered to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve only told me like ten times tonight” Jade teased him, threading her fingers through his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both leaned in, kissing each other slowly as Beck grabbed one of Jade’s hands. Holding it with his own, resting them against his chest. They both looked down at the ground, closing their eyes, letting the serenity of the moment take over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They danced together for what seemed like hours, either whispering to each other or watching their friends dance too. Jade laughed as they all exchanged dance partners every few minutes, Tori going from Andre to Sinjin, while Cat went from Burf to Robbie. Trina was standing at the edge of the dance floor, chugging her drink as she allowed herself to relax. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade let go of Beck, pulling away from their dance so she could pull Cat and Tori into a hug. They all stood in the group hug, Trina setting her drink down so she could join them. The four girls danced together in a circle for a few moments, the guys watching them from the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all went back to dancing in pairs after a few songs played. Andre convinced Jade to let him spin her around a few times. Cat insisting that Beck do the same with her. Sinjin and Burf excused themselves to drink more while Tori and Trina jokingly slow danced together, laughing as they did so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Jade and Andre and Beck and Cat danced together, they switched again. Beck going back to Jade while Andre and Cat grabbed Henry, spinning him around wildly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonight was perfect” Jade whispered to Beck, leaning her back against his chest, one of his arms looping around her waist while the other went around her shoulder. She interlaced her fingers with his as they swayed back and forth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hummed against her head in agreement. “It was” he spoke softly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can things always be this perfect?” Jade asked him with a grin, turning her head so they were looking at each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kissed underneath her eye quickly before responding “As long as I have you and Henry, things will always be this perfect.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, there it is :) I really hope you liked it, cause I really liked writing it. I hope I did Criminal Minds and Bade justice, I tried my best lmao. If you have any feedback or thoughts, please leave them because I enjoy reading what you think ;) Anyways, thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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